Air Force Board visits 310th Space Wing

  • Published
  • By Capt. Maren P. Barney
  • 310th Space Wing public affairs
SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  Wrapping up their five-day tour of Air Force Reserve Command units, 25 members of the Air Force Board visited the 310th Space Wing here January 16. 

The board consists of Air Force general officers, senior executive service personnel and some colonels from a variety of backgrounds and specialties. Their purpose for visiting AFRC units was to understand and experience the scope, range, and diversity of AFRC and its missions and to gain insight into the resource challenges and emerging requirements from the units' perspectives. 

"This was a great opportunity to see Air Force Reserve Command," said Mr. Michael Fricano, assistant director of operations at PACAF. "An interesting aspect of this trip for me was to see that despite the problems with total force integration, it's working."
The Air Force Board conducts an annual trip based on a theme - this year's theme was the Air Force Reserve. 

"What struck me the most during this trip was that I couldn't tell the difference between the active duty and Reserve personnel - either professionally or technically," said Mr. Blaise J. Durante, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition integration . 
"Everyone I talked to had a great grasp of what their mission is and what their role is in accomplishing it." 

The purpose of the board is to get a feel for the day-to-day issues that units are facing - both with personnel and facilities. 

"Don't just show us the good stuff," said Fricano. "Let us know what problems you're having and we'll see what we can do to help." 

The board heard about the challenges faced by the 310th with its rapid growth and geographically separated mission support group. At the other end of the spectrum, they learned that the nature of space operations creates an ideal environment for the implementation of the total force integration concept. 

The group kicked off its tour at AFRC headquarters at Robins AFB, Ga. Their next stop in Georgia was at Dobbins Air Reserve Base to visit the 22nd Air Force and 94th Air Wing. They next flew to Texas to visit the 10th Air Force and 301st Fighter Wing at Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. Next on the itinerary was a visit to March AFB to meet with the members of the 452nd Air Mobility Wing and the 4th Air Force in California. 

Last on the board's agenda was visiting the 302nd Air Wing at Peterson AFB and the 310th Space Wing at Schriever AFB in Colorado.