917th CES dives into total force integration

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeff Walston
  • 917th Wing Public Affairs Office
Barksdale AFB, La. --  Airmen assigned to the 917th Civil Engineer Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., have dove head first into the total force integration concept.

As of the August 2009 unit training assembly, the 917th CES personnel began the process moving the squadron to the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron facilities. The office space they vacated will soon be occupied by Global Strike Command personnel.

Although there is a loss of space to the squadron, according to Maj. Charles B. Chapman III, commander, 917th Civil Engineer Squadron, the change will be beneficial to the reservists and their training status.

"Integration with the 2nd CES will give our reservists a view of base sustainment. Traditionally, we have always trained and prepared for a deployment where we would establish a new base vs. maintaining an existing base. Our recent deployment to Iraq was our first taste of a sustainment mission and there were some growing pains. Gaining more experience in sustaining a base (Barksdale), even if only on the weekends, will better prepare us for future sustainment type missions," Maj. Chapman said.

Barksdale is one of three prototype bases being tasked with implementing a total force integration concept throughout the entire scope of their civil engineer units, which consists of the Prime BEEF (base engineer emergency force) teams, Explosive Ordnance Disposal units, and the Fire Department. Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii and Travis Air Force Base in California are also prototype bases where their squadrons are transitioning to the TFI concept.

"Total Force Integration is a cooperation between Reserves and (Regular Air Force) working and training together as one unit to form the Expeditionary Combat Support and Association Integrated Product Team," said Chief Master Sgt. Stanley Huff, 917th CES.

For the 917th CES, TFI became effective in February of 2008. After some initial preparation, their personnel started working in the 2nd Bomb Wing CES shops during the June UTA of that same year.

The idea of total force integration between Reserves and Regular Forces is not a new one. It has been around since about 1973. Over the years it has been slowly implemented throughout the military which includes the Regular Air Force, Reserve and Guard components.

"We have always had a pretty good working relationship with our Regular Air Force counterparts, sharing equipment and performing some joint training," Maj. Chapman said. "The TFI will only bring us closer together in the CE family."

Being that a traditional reservist, for the most part, works only on the UTA weekend, the 2nd BW has taken the lead in assigning work for the base.

"The 2nd CES controls the work orders. The superintendents come in on the Friday before the UTA and meet with their (Regular Air Force) counterparts. They discuss the work requirements for the weekend and receive the work orders," said Chief Huff. "Each shop has a Regular Air Force person in it, when the work is completed; the work order is turned over to them for processing. The TFI concept at Barksdale will allow the Reservist greater access to equipment they wouldn't normally have, and gives the activity (important) man power when needed. It will be good to have a force that has been trained and work together to become as one."

Traditional Reservists with the 917th Wing will still be available to repair Wing assets during monthly UTAs. Chief Huff said 917th personnel will complete work orders that have been turned into activity duty. Those work requests will also be discussed at the superintendents meeting on the Friday before the UTA.

"The hardest part about the integration will be to ensure that we keep each other's primary mission in mind. The Regular Air Force Civil Engineer unit has the primary duty of maintaining the base. Our primary mission is training for deployment," said Maj. Chapman. "Our counterparts have to understand that, while we are there to help them accomplish work for the base, we still must spend time doing our own training. Conversely, we must understand that we can't always expect the Regular Air Force to drop everything and provide us with training--they still have a base to maintain." 

The concept of one totally integrated force will not only benefit the 917th Wing at Barksdale, but the 2nd Bomb Wing as well.

"The TFI concept is a perfect fit for Barksdale and the missions of the 2nd CES and 917th CES. The 917th benefits by getting hands-on training while the 2nd gets additional work requests completed so we can move onto other things. Every little bit helps with the never-ending work that piles up every day. We can definitely use the extra manpower," said Maj. Walter D. Gibbins, operations flight commander, 2nd CES/CEO. "This integration has been an iterative process so far, with the endgame being that 2nd CES and 917th CES personnel will deploy together as one team sometime down the road. We have a great relationship with the 917th CES. When they get new troops inbound, they spend "spin-up" time with the 2nd CES shops to learn all the ins and outs of the job. When they go back to the 917th, they are trained and ready to go."