Services, personnel flights merge to form 302nd AW's newest squadron

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stephen J. Collier
  • 302nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  From 'PERSCO' to pillows and careers to cooks, all of these and more can now be found "under one roof" after a Nov. 6 ceremony recognizing the 302nd Airlift Wing's newest squadron here.

During the ceremony, which honored an official Oct. 15 activation date, the 302nd Force Support Squadron was stood up, combining both the 302nd Services and Mission Support Flights. The new squadron, commanded by Lt. Col. Alan Flolo, follows an Air Force-wide initiative that merges both personnel and services functions into one organization.

"We look forward to being the best force support squadron throughout Air Force Reserve Command," said Colonel Flolo. "It's been a pleasure to be commander of the mission support flight, but now we're faced with a new opportunity to excel. Next month, we'll all come together for the squadron's first Christmas party where each of us will have the opportunity to get to know one another."

The merger is part of the Air Force Reserve's continuing efforts to increase efficiency across the command, which means cutting costs associated with mission requirements. The 302nd MSF was originally broken down into 11 sections, while the Services Flight was made up of four sub organizations. With both flights now merged, the 302nd FSS consists of four flights: force development, manpower and personnel, Airman and family services and sustainment services.

Preparations for the force support squadron standup began taking place more than a year ago with senior leadership from both flights coming together to develop a sound transition plan.

Maj. Kristiana Gerdes, 302d FSS force support operations officer and one of the architects of the merger, said the combining of both flights "should be a seamless transition for the customer.

The result of merging both mission support and services functions will increase efficiency of programs and customer service," said Major Gerdes, who has also been involved with standing up an active duty force support squadron in 2008. "Transparency to the customer is our overall goal."

Members will witness only slight changes with the new squadron that stood up, including the consolidation of some offices. The fusion of the two flights will also give officers from both personnel and services backgrounds the ability to broaden their careers, with mission support officers overseeing the dining facility and base lodging, as well as services officers assigned to mission support leadership positions.

"The Air Force has encouraged all force support officers to diversify their leadership and gain a better understanding of all aspects of the force support arena," Major Gerdes explained. "This is a good thing for officers because it encourages breadth and depth within the 'FSS' career field, creating well-rounded officers."

After the new squadron's stand up, Lt. Col. Michael Burns, 302nd Mission Support Group commander, said everyone in both the services and mission support flights talked for months about how well the new squadron was going to work out.

"There's no doubt in my mind how successful this merger will be," Colonel Burns said. "Everybody in this unit, their leaders and their Airmen, have talked about the future and where we're going to be. When I hear that, it gives me the confidence to know our new force support squadron will succeed."

Since the inception of the FSS concept, the Air Force Reserve Command stood up seven force support squadrons from October 2008 to October 2009. The 302nd FSS was part of a group of force support squadrons that stood up during the fall 2010 timeframe in AFRC. Remaining Reserve units are projected to merge their mission support and services functions through the end of the year.

According to the Air Force Reserve Command's concept of operations for the FSS construct, the merger of both personnel and services "presents a new service delivery model." At the Air Force level, three field operating agencies that oversaw both personnelists and services functions began the force support merger, with the Air Force Manpower Agency, Air Force Personnel Center and Air Force Services Agency combining into one, centralized function. The concept of operations also identified the preferred results from FSS stand-ups, stating that "the newly designed squadron is expected to perform its mission and provide excellent customer service at home base, for remote sites and at one or more deployed locations."

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