What Helps and What Hurts: How Ten Activities Affect Readiness and Quality of Life at Three 8AF Wings

This documented briefing responds to a 1996 request from Lieutenant General Phillip Ford for direct assistance in addressing the workloads that affect wings in the Eighth Air Force. General Ford sensed a high pace of operations across 8AF, but he had no ready data to characterize or analyze the situation. Encapsulating the situation, he said, We know were working hard. But are we working smart Aware of internal Air Force efforts to review how overseas operations during peacetime stress so-called high-demand, low-density units, he wanted to consider a broader spectrum of activities and units. Primarily using staff from an ongoing Force Mix, Capability, and Readiness project and from a planned project called Organizational Options for Forces and Infrastructure, Project AIR FORCE developed and applied a survey to examine how peacetime operations, exercises, inspections, and a range of other activities affect different elements of an Air Force wing--within operations, logistics, support, and medical groups, and within the wing staff. This documented briefing summarizes the results, developed under Project AIR FORCEs Resource Management and System Acquisition Program. The briefing was first reviewed by commanders and staffs at Minot, Cannon, and Little Rock Air Force Bases, whose leaders provided the data summarized herein, and then by Lieutenant General Ford.