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Lackland Air Force Base, TX - July 1, 2024
In a deliberate move designed to foster operational effectiveness, innovation, and personnel development, the 688th Cyberspace Wing, part of 16th Air Force headquartered in Joint-Base San Antonio, Texas, completed their first round of organization-wide, rolling tactical pauses from day-to-day operations.
"This mission of our wing is unique in its scope. The success of every Airman and Guardian depends heavily on what the Tigers of the 688th do, every day. That will only increase with Great Power Competition (GPC). We embrace that responsibility and seek feedback from our Airmen, civilians, and external partners to highlight areas where we could improve our effectiveness," stated Colonel Joshua Rockhill, Commander of the 688th Cyberspace Wing. “Given the pace of operations, generating a surge for corrections can be difficult, but we know the importance of investing in this way.”
These one-day unit standdowns were data-driven through cumulating after-action reviews (AARs), debriefs, and collective lessons learned. Ongoing missions were temporarily backfilled by other units within the organization, so that fellow personnel could hyper-focus on identified areas of planning, briefing, executing, debriefing, quality assurance, and equipping staff with the latest industry knowledge.
"We can’t stop operating to figure these things out, but we can have our units back each other up," explained Rockhill. "It's about creating a surge of positive change within the 688th Cyberspace Wing. We're confident it will propel us forward with immense momentum and empower each other to improve the Air Force Information Network (AFIN) and Warfighter Communications."
The 688th Cyberspace Wing operates in a highly competitive landscape, with the cyber domain being a critical factor in the GPC. By calibrating tactics and procedures, the 688th Cyberspace Wing made a deliberate move towards greater effectiveness, reduced errors, and faster turnaround times. This translates to increased mission assurance, improved user experience, and ultimately, a stronger position in the GPC.
“Our unit seized the opportunity to formalize Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), ensuring clear definitions of roles and responsibilities between the support squadron and the mission squadrons,” said 1st Lt. Meghan Sanford, 5th Combat Communications Group, 688th Cyberspace Wing. “As a result, three additional SOPs are now prepared for final group approval.”
The organization aims for this iteration to be the first of many, with the event not only enhancing productivity but also creating a more engaged and motivated workforce, all with the consistent goal of becoming the Air Force’s most trusted unit.
“We are always in motion, moving from one task to another and striving to work harder, faster, and better,” said Staff Sgt. Ashley Paige, 33rd Cyberspace Operations Squadron, 26th Cyberspace Operations Group. “The operational standdown allowed us to understand our processes and roles, enabling us to effectively unite as a team and recognize how our individual contributions impact our Wing and the Department of the Air Force as a whole.”
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.01.2024 12:24 |
| Story ID: | 475295 |
| Location: | LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 239 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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