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10th ABW commander says respect, continual improvement are top priorities

Commander's Call

Col. Shawn Campbell, 10th Air Base Wing commander. (U.S. Air Force photo)

By Ray Bowden, Oct. 16, 2017

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — The 10th Air Base Wing’s top officer said performance improvement, installation security and respect for others rank high on his agenda Oct. 12.

Col. Shawn Campbell said the wing will remain a place of dignity and respect, and any report of disrespect for Airmen and civilians will be fully investigated.

“It matters not if it comes from a military member, a civilian or a contractor,” he said.

Campbell had this and more to say to the Airmen and civilians attending his commander’s call, where he unveiled plans for improvement at the wing. He said he and his staff are working on a new vision for the organization.

“My goal is that we’ll share that vision at the end of the year,” he said. “It’s really hard to figure out where we’re going if we don’t have a road map.”

Campbell and his staff are also working on a detailed five-year plan for the wing.

“We have to start thinking about where we’re going to be in five years,” he said.

The colonel said the plan stems in part from his desire to inspire Airman and civilian employees to think about the future, and improving themselves and their organization.

“That effort starts now,” he said.

Campbell contrasted improving performance with improving processes. Performance Improvement, he said, is combines personal improvement with process improvement.

“People are not processes but people drive improvement in themselves personally and professionally, drive improvement in our processes and drive improvement in how we deliver in our mission areas,” he said.  “Taken together, this is ‘Continuous Performance Improvement.’”

Campbell also addressed installation security concerns, using the base’s response to the Sept. 29 report of an active shooter as an example.

“We were all very fortunate to find the ‘active shooter’ was not an actual shooter,” he said.

The 10th ABW commander said the event and the numerous shootings across the U.S. show the need to continually improve both security and how the wing responds to events.

“We’re working on a whole series of things to make the installation safer,” he said.

During an anonymous, web-based Q&A format with Airmen, Campbell addressed a host of questions, including complaints concerning the quality of the Academy’s computer network service.

“The 10th Communications Squadron is working to complete 10 years of computer upgrades in one year,” he said. “There’s no short-term fix but the ‘comm squadron’ is putting in a tremendous amount of effort to solve the problem. I’m pretty confident this is going to improve in the next 12 months.”

Editor’s note: The 10th Air Base Wing is the support wing for the Academy and provides support to enhance the education and development of more than 4,000 cadets. The wing is responsible for medical, engineering, logistics, communications, personnel, services, security and other key support for more than 25,000 military and civilian personnel. The organization also preserves and improves a $3.5 billion base infrastructure and operates a regional medical infrastructure serving four Air Force installations in the U.S.

Visit www.usafa.af.mil/Units/10th-Air-Base-Wing and www.usafa.edu for more information.

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