Courtesy Photo | Washington Air National Guard Master Sgt. Brandon Smith, 194th Wing Electromagnetic...... read more read more
Airmen at 194th Wing have a unique opportunity to voice their ideas directly to wing leadership, thanks to the White Paper Program. Initiated in October 2023, the program is designed to streamline the process of proposing and implementing changes within the Wing.
“The White Paper Program is designed to provide everyone in the 194th Wing an avenue to channel ideas for change, innovation, and process improvement directly to the wing commander and chain of command,” said Col. Brian Bergren, 194th Wing Commander.
Bergren outlines the process in three simple steps:
1. Identify a change, innovation, or process improvement you see as necessary to improve mission execution, Airman quality of life, or system efficiency.
2. Write the paper. Be as detailed or as brief as you would like. Details help us understand the problem, background, effort to date, and/or views of others.
3. Send your paper to the below:
a. EMAIL SUBJECT LINE: White Paper: (Your Great Concept)
b. Your immediate supervisor
c. Squadron Commander and Chief
d. Group Commander and Chief
e. Wing Commander
f. Wing Deputy Commander
g. Wing Command Chief
The White Paper Program does not require elaborate presentations or detailed PowerPoint slides. Airmen must simply submit their ideas via an email or Word document.
“It's an opportunity for airmen's voices to be heard,” said Bergren. “They don't have to wait and they don't have to struggle, and they don't have to do some grandiose presentation. You got an idea? The commander wants to hear it.”
One early success story involves the installation of automatic paper towel dispensers at Building 109. An airman’s simple request for more efficient dispensers led to successful implementation.
“There was an airman who submitted an idea that said, ‘The manual paper dispensers are not working for us, we would like automatic paper towel dispensers,’ ” said Bergren. “And so we were able to get that done for them.”
In contrast, a much more complex proposal resulted in the formation of an Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Task Force.
In December drill of 2023, Bergren visited the former squadron of Master Sgt. Brandon Smith, EMSO Task Force Noncommissioned Officer in Charge. Smith recalls Bergren relaying his priorities and announcing the White Paper Program. Hearing the Commander’s message, Smith recognized an opportunity to integrate the Wing’s missions with EMSO and expand the Wing’s capabilities.
EMSO involves managing and using the electromagnetic spectrum, which is the range of invisible “waves” such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared and other types of electromagnetic radiation.
Smith wrote a white paper on the concept that the 194th Wing is not adequately prepared for electromagnetic spectrum superiority in the event of conflict.
“I went back to my hotel and started researching EMSO,” said Smith. “I wrote the white paper, finished it that Sunday of drill and submitted it.”
A couple days later, Bergren replied. By February, an EMSO task force was created, headed by Maj. Ian Roberts, EMSO Task Force Officer in Charge, and Smith. In the months since, hours of networking, research, conferences and training have resulted in rapid growth.
“We're getting some equipment,” said Smith. “We're trying to get personnel. In the last six months, the growth has been exponential.”
In fact, the 194th Wing is now in the process of implementing an electronic warfare unit. The EMSO task force and potential of a new unit within the Wing all began with Smith’s white paper submitted on a Sunday of drill.
Since its inception, the White Paper Program has received 10 submissions. Each submission is tracked and reviewed weekly to ensure that no idea is overlooked.
“Sometimes we have successes,” said Bergren. “Sometimes we realize that we're not able to implement the idea. But the unique thing about the White Paper program is that if we're not able to implement an idea, my promise to Airmen is to go back and explain why we can't do it.”
Even if their idea is not implemented immediately, Airmen’s white papers have led to raised awareness and research in several domains, including the installation of electric vehicle chargers and use of a computer software to clean up disk space.
“Just because an idea doesn't necessarily get implemented the way an airman wants it to, doesn't mean it's all for naught,” said Bergren. “Good can come out of it. We can take a closer look at our processes and fix them maybe in another way.”
The White Paper Program is set to continue as a key component of the wing’s effort to foster innovation and address the needs of its airmen.
| Date Taken: | 09.18.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.19.2024 10:32 |
| Story ID: | 481226 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 140 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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