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Show II.3--.-E TIMES October 26, 2006 Hilltop _ TfMES Hilltop Times Editorial Staff: Col. Scoll Chambers 75th ABW Commando; Chorlos Freeman . .. Chiol, Public Altai's Barbara Fishor EdMor Toch Sgl. Cryslol Robloa .. . Assistant Editor Beth Young, Mitch Shaw, Airman tat Closs Jenny Chong and Airman 1st Class Clayion Murray .. .. Stall Writers Shannon Smiih .. Page Layout & Design Deadlines: Editorial and news Hems. 3 p.m. Friday. For more Information call 777-4596. Published by Ogdcn Publishing Corp., a private Firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with Hill AFB. This commercial enterprise Air Force newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. military services. Contents of the Hilltop Times are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force. The appearance oi advertisements in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of the Air Force or Ogdcn Publishing Corp., of ihe products or services advertised. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase. use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other Daiiaieaiia£lor, of the purchaser,.user,or. patron. Editorial content is edited, prepared and,p*Qj[iilfcdJby1 t 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs Office staff in Bldg. 152, Call 777-4598 with story ideas or comments, or send e-mail to "hilltop timesCf'hiii.af.mir'. Unless otherwise indicated all photos are U S. Air Force photos. THINK SAFETY Hill's Total 2006 DUIs: 24 Hill's Last DUI: S^Wet S3 Unit Involved: Airmen Against Drinking and Driving provide rides when designated drivern arc unavnilublc. Call 777-1 111 any time to rrquai a ride. COMMENTARY Civilians vital part of 'Total Force' ufacture) by reducing material acquisiThe Air Force has been engaged tion flow-days in combat now for almost 16 years. from 18 to Much has been said about how four clays and the "Total Force" policy of active, developed a Air National Guard and Air Force new Material Reserve contributes to getting the Issue CenAir Force mission done. Our civilter to control ian workforce is also part of this ToLt. Col. Kim cost, enforce tal Force. At Team Hill, especially Wayne Robinson accountabilin the 309th Aircraft Maintenance ity and eliminate lost parts. Group, they don't get any better! The nearly 3,000 men and women • The 573rd Aircraft Mainteof this group performed a million nance Squadron (F-16) produced miracles in fiscal 2006 to provide more than 850,000 man hours of combat-ready aircraft to the warf- work resulting in 193 modified airighter. For example: craft returned to the warfighter. The entire squadron's efforts to • The 571st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (A-10) produced bring about the Lean process cellular flow capability were recently 64 aircraft with 233,489 man hours of work and celebrated the lauded by the Shingo Evaluation monumental roll out of the first Team. One of the many Lean accomplishments was reducing the modernized Precision Engagement Upgrade on the A-10C. Our Common Configuration ImpleA-10 pilots are more lethal and sur- mentation Program modification vivable than ever ... extending the line flow days from 170 to 119, which contributed to the Gold life of the A-10C through 2028. Shingo Award in the public sector • The 572nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (C-130) produced manufacturing category. 55 aircraft with 600,000 man hours • The civilian team members of work. Repair time was greatly of the 574th Aircraft Structures reduced using tailor-made transBranch produced 158 F-16 wings, formational work stands, innovat- seven of which were dedicated to ed for quick access to wings and Foreign Military Sales. Additionfuselage. Flow days decreased by ally, the 574th completed 31 A-10 using Lean principles from 20 to Wings as part of the A-10 Service 9.6 per aircraft. The C-130 Exami- Life Extension Program. Through nation and Inventory Section used Lean initiatives, they were able to a wireless handheld computer to reduce average flow days by 24 input maintenance write-ups into percent and reduce overtime per the Program Depot Maintenance Lean wing by 60 percent. They Scheduling System, saving time are definitely the "wind" beneath identifying and recording mainte- several Air Force wings. That's nance discrepancies. The squad- tremendous! ron streamlined their material • Another 309 AMXG squadron, supportability process (local man- the 575th Advanced Composites, BYLT. COL. KIM WAYNE ROBINSON 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron is on the super cutting edge of technology, fabricating composite products and components for various industries throughout the fretworld. This fiscal year they provided high-end, highly specialized custom design, development, prototyping, production, modification and repair services in Advanced Composites and Low Observablcs technology. They have the capabilities of supporting workloads such as A-10, B-2, C-130, F-<1. F-15, F-16, F-lll, F-22, F-35, Joint STAR, Global Hawk and unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicles. Parts they manufacture and repair include flight controls, leading and trailing edges, radomes, flipper doors, bomb bay and landing gear panels. • Since April, the 309th Maintenance Group F-22 Squadron has produced a number of Night Airto-Air Refueling modifications. They are doing an excellent job putting new facilities into service and matching this space with all the F-22 aircraft security, weapons safety and maintenance-related requirements. The future is here! • The 649th Combat Logistics Support Squadron, an active duty squadron in the predominately civilian 309 AMXG, continues this great "enabler" tradition by providing the warfighter with an innovative, expeditionary, imbedded team focused on sortie generation and heavy maintenance. Within their full spectrum of depot repair capability, the 649 CLSS repaired 128 aircraft (F-16s and A-lOs) and sent out 57 depot field support teams to various major commands and Foreign Military Sales countries. Operations in Southwest Asia include teams sent to Balacl, Kirkuk and Bagram. We can learn from Abraham Lincoln. Donald Phillips, in his book "Lincoln on Leadership," states "No one wants to be forced to do something against his will. People generally want to believe that what they're doing truly makes a difference and more important, that it is their own idea. Lincoln realized this fact, as should all potential leaders." In other words, civilian combat cnabler's ideas have truly made a difference for the 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group. The future of military maintenance has terms like "Performance Based Logistics" (PBL), "Expeditionary Logistics for the 21st Century" (elog21) and now "Air Force Maintenance for the 21st Century" (AFMx21). Behind these words are the heartbeat of the Air Force, and that is YOUR IDEAS. By taking these aging platforms into the future using innovation and new capabilities, the systems stay relevant. This fiscal year we saw the results — an air strike on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's hideout in Iraq on June 7. This demonstrates that you do count. Personally, I feel wonderfully privileged to work around the groat group of professionals in the 309 AMXG. You never stay satisfied with your current skills and level of innovation but constantly sharpen and advance your technological "know how" daily. After almost 20 years in aircraft maintenance, I am proud to serve with you as we give the warfighler the ability to kick the door down for freedom. "Off we go into wild blue yonder..." action.line.pa@hill.af.mil Thanks for fixing the problem Q l want to extend my thanks to whoever took action to remedy the problems that occur each morning for the westbound State Highway 193 commuters entering Hill through the South Gate. Normally it takes our carpool 12 to 18 minutes to get through the South Gate each morning. Sometimes we start in line almost even with the flightline where traffic backs up; other times, traffic will be backed up almost to the "Burn Plant" road. Imagine our pleasant surprise Oct. 16 when we were Photo by Jennifer Moore able to make the turn off State Highway 193 toward the South Gate and Col. Scott Chambers (right), 75th Air Base Wing comget onto the base within two to three minutes. We were never dangerously mander and Col. Linda Medler, 75th Air Base Wing vice backed up onto the side of the highway all of last week because one more commander, discuss strategies for conducting a post lane into the base was opened during the heavy traffic time in the mornattack reconnaissance mission In search of unexploded ing. ordnance during a readiness exercise Monday mornThe opening of that extra lane during the morning rush hour has provided ing. the safety we need in getting off of the highway as quickly as possible to enter the base and begin our shifts. This is especially important with winter coming. A couple of my co-workers also appreciate the changes made at the Truck Gate (Southwest Gate) to eliminate backup problems there too. Keep up the current practice of opening additional lanes at both gates during the morning rush. It has truly improved and provided increased safety for hundreds of employees working at Hill. Thanks for taking the time to call and recognize the changes we've made for the better at our gates. The, safety of our employees is paramount to the leadership of this base, and we have a team of individuals who are always looking for ways to improve traffic flow and safety for drivers and pedestrians. Even with these changes, however, with the winter months coming, I encourage everyone to leave a little earlier for work because of the dangerous road conditions caused by snow and ice. Let us know if you see problems we can address in the future. I A When you call or send an e-mail, your com- Please give your supervisor and chain of fore calling the Action Line. This will help me ments will be recorded and staffed through command the opportunity to work with you in better serve your interests. Items of basewide the agency responsible for action. answering questions and solving problems be- interest will be published in the Hilltop Times. Guess Who? Enter the 'Name a Leader' contest by trying to guess which member of the Hill leadership team is shown on the right. Submissions must be received by close of business Monday. Attendees of the Ogden Air Logistics Center Commander's Picnic are ineligible for this contest. Entries can be sent via e-mail to hilltop.times® hill.af.mil, dropped off or mailed to 75th ABW/PA, 5837 D. Avenue, Bldg. 152, Hill AFB, Utah, 84056. The winners will be announced in the Nov. 2 issue of the Hilltop Times. Capt. Jack Sparrow Fred Flintstone Dream of Jeannie •'P • v* Cher Zoro |