No air power without manpower

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason McCasland
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh has commented on the importance of Airmen to today's Air Force. One Barksdale office is responsible for ensuring pilots, mechanics, logisticians, and medical providers have the Airmen on hand to accomplish the mission.

The 2nd Force Support Squadron manpower office provides leaders at all levels with the tools to identify the manpower required to get the job done right.

"Our job is to figure out how many people both Barksdale, and ultimately the Air Force, need to complete both its peacetime and wartime missions," said Eddie Torres, 2nd FSS manpower flight chief. "To do this we use four different core competencies of organization structure, manpower requirements determination, program allocation and control, and performance management. In essence, we make sure there are enough people for the job, regardless of what type of job it is."

Manning information is vital to each base, its leaders and ultimately the Air Force.

"What we do goes straight to each career field manager so they know what each base needs to fulfill their mission," Tech. Sgt. Terryll Collins, 2nd FSS manpower craftsman. "Our information is also what tells the Air Force if we need more manning in certain jobs. We also have to know how thin manning can get without sacrificing the mission."

Knowing how many Airmen are needed doesn't come easy. Figures and facts ensure Air Force needs are met.

"We use algebraic equations to figure out what the Air Force needs in terms of mission manning," said Torres. "It's similar to what civilian companies use to make sure they are running at optimum manning levels. For example, we know the [B-52H Stratofortress] requires a certain number of aircrew to fly, but we also have to factor in leave, deployments and medical restrictions for those crews. This way, we can continue the mission without stopping to wait for them to come back from leave, medical or deployments."

These algebraic masters of manning don't start out that way. Manpower Airmen begin their careers as something else, another job.

"Manpower is one of few career fields in the Air Force that is exclusively manned by Airmen that have retrained from other Air Force Specialty Codes or jobs," said Torres. "It is harder to learn what the Air Force needs without first being there to see it firsthand. From former aircraft maintainers to security forces Airmen, the manpower team ensures their old career fields have the manning to do the job efficiently."

The 2nd FSS manpower office continues to ensure Barksdale units continue to have the manning necessary to fulfill Air Force leadership's vision for the force and its mission.