Leveraging Leadership for Better Business: A Look at Civil Engineering in the Air Force

Government downsizing is a huge political issue in the United States. For the military its impact originates with the end of the Cold War. The military battle cry of doing more with less illustrates the duality of continual budget cuts with increasing commitments abroad. Although money is becoming scarce, a concern for mission effectiveness and efficiency has led to many initiatives within the military forces. Government business is no longer viewed as a sacred cow. Leaders have adopted commercial practices and innovations into daily activities. This project targets the unique business opportunities afforded to Civil Engineer Squadrons in the Air Force. It analyzes the changing environment and the catalysts that demand transformation. From this foundation it delves into the basic structure and nature of the organization to identify potential areas for improvement. Current initiatives are presented and extrapolated using commercial practices and recent academic thoughts. Thorough analysis of a survey involving Air Force officers is used to develop actions for future improvements in leadership development. The desired intent of this project is to establish opportunities that may be implemented by Air Force Civil Engineers at the squadron level which will allow them to - conduct business with improved efficiency and effectiveness in the future.