MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Alabama —
Since November 20, 2022, when the Secretary of the Air Force announced that the 908th Airlift Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama was the preferred location to host the formal training unit MH -139A Gray Wolf, the squadron looked to the future. .
The 908th has a long tradition of tactical airlift, the more recent part of which (nearly 40 years) uses the C-130 Hercules as its platform around the world.
One of the biggest concepts that Colonel Craig Drescher, 908 AW Commander, has emphasized over the past 20 months was, “The wing will be a C-130 unit providing tactical airlift until its last flight.
That sentiment helped Air Force Reserve Command Alabama’s only wing execute the largest deployment of the wing in its history, with nearly 25% of its members deployed through 2021, including members at Hamid Karzi Airport in Kabul during the fall of Afghanistan in August 2021 and other members. help execute the next evacuation.
The 908th’s C-130s returned from their final deployment in November 2021 and conducted their final flight with the wing, a four-ship formation flight, on April 2, 2022.
Throughout, the Wing had a mission, a vision and priorities that members lived every day. They have been ingrained in every Airman as the Wing’s way of life, who the 908th is and what makes it successful.
The mission of the 908th Airlift Wing was to “provide combat capability anytime…anywhere”; the Wing’s vision was: “Capable and innovative citizen Airmen, ready today, leaders tomorrow”; and the Wing’s priorities were to “strengthen our combat capabilities” and “develop our Airmen”. Additionally, during the pandemic, the Wing’s COVID-19 priorities were added, “Ensuring the health and well-being of our Airmen and their families”, while “Preserving as much mission as possible”.
But now is the time for change, as the wing is currently in a state of transition, as is its mission, vision and priorities.
Following the July 2022 Unit Training Assembly, Drescher called for 35 senior enlisted officers and officers from every squadron and group to join him and the other two-thirds of his command team consisting of Vice Commander 908 AW, Col. Casey Burril and 908 AW Command Chief, Chief Master Sgt. Tracy Cornett, for a lecture on Strategic Wing Alignment July 11-12, 2022, at the Air University Fairchild Library at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
The conference moderator was Colonel Christopher Victoria, deputy commander of the 908th Mission Support Group and acting commander of the 25th Aerial Port Squadron.
According to Victoria, the purpose of the conference was “to put into words the overall purpose of the Wing”.
To do this, leaders were asked very basic questions to help lay the groundwork and frame the statements. “What do we do on a daily basis? What do we want to accomplish? What are our main focus areas to get there? »
“We analyzed the mission and vision statements as well as the priorities of our higher headquarters and mission partners,” Drescher explained. “These included Air Force Reserve Command, 22nd Air Force, Air Education and Training Command and Air Force Global Strike Command. We then asked ourselves: “Where is the 908th located? »
The conference was then divided into four key sections to focus on: the mission statement; vision statement; Wing priorities; and a SWOT analysis, which is a technique for assessing an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Now, after more than two weeks of deliberation, the wing has announced its new mission, vision and priorities.
“The group worked out these statements and priorities together,” Drescher explained. “It was really a collaborative effort.”
The 908th Airlift Wing’s new mission statement is to “develop and deliver versatile Airmen.”
The new 908 AW vision statement is to be “The first wing that inspires transformational servant leaders and exports excellence”.
When asked why the new mission and vision statements were chosen, Drescher explained that they emphasize Airmen first.
“We will develop and deliver versatile airmen when and where they are needed,” he said. “Aviators are our goal.”
The Wing’s new priorities are: Developing Airmen; Accelerate and sustain readiness; Communication; and get ready for MH-139 Beddown.
These updates will help reshape the wing’s culture during this transition, while guiding members into the future mission, injecting new goals and standards into the legendary wing’s DNA.
“Those are our priorities for the next two to three years,” Drescher said. “We will reassess and adjust if necessary.”
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