June commander's suggestion box responses

  • Published
  • 919th Special Operations Wing public affairs
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  The 919th Special Operations Wing commander installed commander's comments/suggestion boxes at various locations around the base. When the questions/comments are applicable wing-wide they will be published on the home page and members who provide their name and contact information will be contacted directly.

Here are the June comments/suggestions and the commander's responses:

1.  Running on the road

Comment:  7th Special Forces Group runs on the road from HWY 85 and the gate at Duke Field.  They cross back and forth along the road and interrupt traffic.

Response:  This issue will be brought up with the leadership of the 7th SFG.  Part of this is a cultural issue, in the Army the people running have right of way and all traffic is expected to slow and give way.  You mention that the runners were not even on the base however; this puts them and drivers at greater risk.

2.  Fitness Center locker room A/C and exhaust fan

Comment:  The men's locker room needs air condition.  The benefit is there would be a cool room to shower and change in.  Additionally, the cold water is warm at best.  The exhaust fan is also broken. 

Response:   The wing's facility manager met with CE superintendent to address the AC issues. The AC motor in the mechanical room had a floating short in the motor junction box that would short to the metal casing at times due to vibrations. Sometimes it would trip the breaker and other times it worked fine. The short was fixed. The AC is working well now. They also went into the men's locker room and it was not as cool as it should be. We compared it to the women's side where it felt much more comfortable.
In the women's locker room, the exhaust fan was working properly. On the men's side there was not flow from the exhaust fan. CE will get it fixed. We're getting the shower mixing valves repaired. Keep the doors and windows closed or it will overburden the air handler and cause a worse situation in the whole building.

3.  Marquee

Comment:  Have all the 919th SOW airplanes on the marquee.  The 919th SOW has more types of aircraft than the 1st SOW with approximately ¼ of full time manning we should take pride in this and our approach to operations and maintenance should be a model to AFSOC.  The geographically separated units should be included as they are all a major part of the 919th SOW.

Response:  We actually put additional aircraft pictures on the marquee a couple of weeks before the June UTA, but the marquee went down for a time until it was recently repaired.  If you notice, there are not only other aircraft flown by the 919 SOW pictured, but pictures of our most important asset- our people.  You will continue to see the hardware along with pictures of members from across the wing doing their jobs.

4.  Morale

Comment:  The morale in my squadron is at an all-time low. 

Response:  I appreciate you taking this opportunity to express your concerns about morale in your unit.  I can assure you the senior leaders in your squadron, and in each of the squadrons in this wing, are concerned about the well-being and effectiveness of the members of their units.  All of us can find some fault in our leaders, but a more productive approach to improving our surroundings would be to offer solutions to problems we see. 

Leaders cannot know everything that happens in their organizations so we rely on people such as you to identify problems and, more importantly, identify solutions to correct those problems.  You might start with speaking to your supervisor about your concerns and start discussing ways to improve your unit.  Use specific examples of the problems you have identified and be creative with your proposed solutions.  I cannot guarantee you every idea you have will be implemented, but I can assure you your leadership is interested in ideas that will improve the well-being and effectiveness of you and your fellow Airmen.  I will address the other specific issues you brought up immediately, feel free to schedule time with me to discuss those problems if you wish.

Personally, I think the 919th is the best wing in the Air Force, but I recognize there will always be room for improvement.  Accordingly, I challenge every Airman in this wing to look for ways to improve your unit and identify solutions to the problems you see that may not be visible to your leadership.  With your help we can continue to make this wing better tomorrow than it is today.