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Air Directorate Field Advisory Council meet, discuss challenges

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Marvin Preston
  • Air National Guard Readiness Center Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. --  Air National Guard leaders met at the Air National Guard Readiness Center here July 23-24 to openly discuss policies, current issues and priorities impacting the ANG during the Air Directorate Field Advisory Council.

The council, which meets biannually, is a field organization that provides another channel of communication to help elevate issues and ideas to Air Force and ANG senior leadership. Air Force Brig. Gen. James C. Witham, deputy director of the ANG, addressed the council members regarding furloughs, budgetary concerns, and the new Air Force inspection system.

"There is great deal of scrutiny on everything we do across all of our mission sets that are represented here at ADFAC," said Witham. "If you are a civilian or a dual-status technician, you are sitting there saying, 'wait a minute, those airplanes are still flying and we're still doing this and that, yet I'm being furloughed.'"

Witham added that the ANG is going to have to watch how every dollar is spent during this fiscally constrained environment, and ensure internal controls are in place to make certain it is done correctly.

"It's very hard to tell our dual status technicians or any of our civilians in the field that we have to do these furloughs, but we can still do x, y and z," Witham explained. "The Chief of the National Guard Bureau and the Director of the Air National Guard are going to work very hard so that we never furlough our dual status technicians again."

Witham also discussed the new Air Force inspection system and how it will impact ANG units.

"This will change the way we do business in the field," said Witham. "This is a continuous process that commanders in the field will need to execute on almost a daily to a monthly basis. The intent is that we are always inspecting ourselves."

The council addressed many challenging topics facing the Department of Defense, Air Force and ANG. The council brings together a wide range of experienced leaders with a variety of skill sets from ANG units around the 50 states, territories and District of Columbia. These combined experiences provide diversity and a variety of viewpoints aimed at providing best possible solutions for the ANG.

"There were more than 20 Weapon System Councils represented," said Air Force Col. Mark Auer, the ADFAC chairman. "Typically, the folks here are wing or group commanders ... the council is simply another mechanism to enhance communication."