Vance consolidates, streamlines wing deployment process

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Brian Hill
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Team Vance's new consolidated wing deployment center - created to eliminate personnel redundancies and cut down on deployment-process discrepancies - recently opened for business in Bldg. 200. 

"Vance has two missions: make pilots and deploy people," said Maj. Matt Eckles, WDC chief. "The WDC serves as a focal point for all deployment-related issues across the wing." 

The WDC brings the installation deployment readiness center and the unit deployment managers together (each of the wing's three groups have UDM representation at the WDC). 

"Day to day, we monitor and update the readiness status of all Vance's eligible deployers," said Maj. Eckles. "We receive and process taskings, then work closely with each individual deployer to ensure all required training and equipment are taken care of before they depart. 

"Before the WDC, deployment responsibility was scattered across the wing," said Maj. Eckles. "Having all the key players literally under one roof is a huge step forward; we now offer one-stop-shopping for the deployer. Working alongside each other daily, barriers to communication have disappeared, and we've gained much greater appreciation for how our various duties overlap." 

Other deployment functions such as travel management, supply, and the training lab are also located in Bldg. 200. 

"Under the new system, we only (interact with) the deployer three times: the initial brief, training week and their final outprocessing appointment," said Maj. Eckles. "Leaving friends and family behind for four, six or 12 months can be hard enough; we owe it to our Airmen to make the deployment process as painless as possible. And that's what the WDC offers." 

The WDC is a streamlining solution produced by Vance's Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century office. It helped to determine root causes of deployment program discrepancies. 

"This was found to be lack of program knowledge by UDMs and alternates," said Maj. Eckles. 

By clarifying the underlying problem, the AFSO 21 office was able to identify waste in the current process. The team designed three processes for presentation to the wing and group commanders, each with pros and cons and varying levels of efficiency for the wing as a whole. The current WDC is the process everyone decided would benefit Vance the most. 

As a base, Vance continues to deploy the same number of people as before. 

"Just as before, our goal is to send each deployer out the door fully prepared, with zero discrepancies: no incomplete training, missing equipment, etc.," said Maj. Eckles. "However, now we're doing it with four UDMs instead of 26, and we're doing it smarter and more efficiently than ever before." 

The program's success is being measured in several ways. 

"For one, the deployers' burden is greatly reduced," said Maj. Eckles. "Rather than handing them a checklist and having them run around Vance checking boxes, we've consolidated the training and briefings so they can get most of it done right here, and in minimal time. Each deployer is asked to complete a feedback sheet during their final-out so we can continue to improve our process. 

"Another measure of success is reduced workload at the unit level," said Maj. Eckles. "Each squadron no longer needs a UDM, so the load-share of all their additional duties should get easier." 

The UDMs feel the new WDC is an improvement as well. 

"Yes, this is most definitely a vast improvement compared to the old process," said Senior Airman Christopher Wilson, 71st Security Forces Squadron. "This allows all of us to work together and create a workplace like no other. We have combined all the pieces of the deployment pie into one tray; with all this knowledge and expertise gathered together our Airmen will receive the attention to detail required to successfully and safely deploy and redeploy."