Two cultures, one force: the future looks blended in middle Georgia

Airman, April, 2004 by Chuck Roberts

"Both systems are right and good," he said, noting that some of his active duty supervisors enjoy the concise and focused nature of Guard evaluations as opposed to the active duty version that demands more attention to "buzz words."

He also has been faced with the concern noted by commanders and supervisors alike--the possible effect a more relaxed working climate among guardsmen has on active duty first-term airmen. Major Massey said he believes the best of both cultures can be blended into a combination beneficial to everyone.

"We want it to be the best job in their career," he said of the challenge of molding young airmen. "I like a casual organization, but I also like a professional atmosphere. Striking a mix of family and professionalism, that's a perfect place to work."

Senior Airman Sarah Battles is a first-term airman who said the new work culture did indeed come as a surprise at first. But now the network administrator said she prefers the unique way the wing works.

"It was weird hearing people call each other by their first name, but we have gotten used to a more relaxed atmosphere," she said. Airman Battles said she and fellow active duty members still use ranks in addressing each other; however, she believes the close-knit Guard community is a good thing and makes the office "like one big family." Professionally, she said she has more opportunity to broaden her knowledge now that Joint STARS is less dependent on the host wing for communication support. She's one of many active duty wing members contemplating switching to the Guard because of its camaraderie and the opportunity to remain rooted in one location.

A maintenance mix-up

The challenge to blend and bond was especially prevalent for maintainers. A full complement of about 800 active duty E-8C maintainers was on hand when the 116th inherited approximately 400 Guard maintainers. By mandate, no guardsman would lose his or her job. The task of molding the maintainers fell to Col. Terry Kinney, who said he knew what he was getting into when he came into "the experiment."

"We had some of the toughest issues to deal with in a compressed timeframe," said the active duty officer who arrived five months before the official merger. Although provided no roadmap leading to the blended wing, the colonel said he soon learned that "we consciously had to drive down the center line whether we liked it or not," while "working emotional issues and making the mission happen."

Failure, he said, was not an option, but at times it must have seemed like a possibility. The four-day workweek afforded while maintaining the B-1 was replaced with the 24/7 posture required for the Joint STARS mission. A bottleneck inevitably developed in the training pipeline. Separate maintenance instructions used by active duty and the Guard are still being reconciled. A technician, required by law to wear a uniform, with master sergeant stripes is by regulation unable to supervise the two-striper working beside him--unless deployed. That opportunity was soon realized.