Force support squadron initiative introduced to 931st, AFRC

  • Published
  • By Technical Sgt. Brannen Parrish
  • 931st ARG Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  The November unit training assembly will mark the first drill since the 931st Military Personnel Flight became the 931st Force Support Squadron.

Air Force Reserve Command authorized the merger of mission support flights and squadrons with services flights and squadrons at twenty-nine units around the country to form force support squadrons, Oct. 15.

According to Lt. Col. Kerry Lehman, the first commander of the 931st FSS, the differences will not be noticeable to most 931st ARG Airmen.

"With the exception of the name change, Airmen shouldn't notice a change. Our location, people and processes will be the same," Colonel Lehman said. "Eventually we will add some services functions and positions but it will not affect personnel, functions or processes in the immediate future."

Nine more AFRC organizations will receive authorization to merge services and support units to form force support squadrons in December. Authorized units have one year to complete the merger.

Air Force Reserve Command helped organizations make the transition to the FSS by holding four spirals with the flight and squadron commanders of affected units.

"One of the things we have done to help prepare the units was we started a community of practice with guidance," said Maj. Charles Knapp, chief, Plans, Programs and Entitlements Branch at AFRC.

"We wanted to harden our units and prepare them as much as we can and so we had FSS huddles," he said. "We sat down and went through everything with them. We actually developed what we called, 'FSS in a box', a compact disc that covered the tools they would use. It's really on the units to make the transition but we wanted to provide as many tools as they could use to be successful."

In making the transition, AFRC organizations will more closely resemble their active duty counterparts who began the transition to the force support squadron structure two years ago.

"When our FSS personnel deploy, they are deploying into an expeditionary FSS in that deployed environment," said Maj. Knapp. "In keeping pace with the active duty on the skill level and the structure is most important because we are here to support the active duty and so we have to have that equal footing so that we can turn that burner on and be successful when we deploy with the active duty."