Space Force

Part three of a five-part series covering the Air Force Surgeon General’s annual Senior Leadership Workshop. The 2024 theme is: “The Air Force Medical Service at 75 … Mission Ready, Operationally Relevant!”

The U.S. Air Force and Space Force Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. John J. DeGoes, and Chief Master Sgt. James Woods, Medical Enlisted Force and Enlisted Corps Chief, hosted the third day of the Senior Leadership Workshop on Dec. 5, 2024, with the day’s theme focusing on the Air Force Medical Command transition.

Air Force Medical Service and AFMEDCOM leaders shared insights on how the new structure will position the AFMS community to support the Department of the Air Force’s evolving operational requirements. Multiple speakers shared a unified message encouraging the audience to embrace change and the collaborative efforts to help the DAF establish AFMEDCOM while maintaining the safety and reliability of the AFMS community.

Leaders provided updates on the efforts to establish AFMEDCOM while sharing strategies to execute a seamless transition that accounts for maintaining operational readiness, standardized advanced training, improved resource allocation and efficient governance as the command. They described the numerous parallel efforts planners must accomplish for AFMEDCOM to reach it initial operational capability in spring 2025.

The 17th Air Force Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Paul K. Carlton, and David Bayliss, resource manager for the Air Force Surgeon General who served as the fourth Chief of the Medical Enlisted Force, discussed their efforts to influence organizational initiatives that have become integral to the evolution of joint force medical capabilities.

These initiatives included the development of Critical Care Air Transport Teams and Expeditionary Medical Support, both of which remain critical to providing life-saving support during aeromedical evacuations during contingency operations and humanitarian responses.

With a robust belief in the DAF mission and Air Force core values of integrity and service before self, Carlton and Bayliss highlighted how these have guided their self-initiative to pursue growth and create buy-in for senior leaders in reoptimizing medical readiness efforts.

“Our heritage as Airmen is to constantly seek the best solutions, and not rely on past practices if there are better ones available. Look critically and say, ‘how can we do a better job,’” Carlton said. “Those are your sons and daughters [fighting] in the field.”

Bayliss emphasized the need for continued innovation and evolving with the challenges of Great Power Competition.

“The Air Force has always been the innovators who think outside of the box. I think of EMEDS, MEDEVAC, I think about all the things we have done to multiply joint capabilities,” Bayliss reflected. “We have to get into the discipline of saying this is our new reality and we have to prepare for it. As we evolve into our own Air Force Medical Command … we have the ability to truly show what medics can bring to the table.”

U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Sean T. Collins, AFMEDCOM commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Quami King, AFMEDCOM senior enlisted leader, stressed the importance of approaching the AFMEDCOM transition with confidence and providing operational medical support to the warfighter.

“We have to optimize are warfighting capabilities and performance,” Collins said. “This is about readiness. We need a ready force in every way – including the Total Force. We have to make sure that our environments at home are adequate to fight the fight.”

The AFMS reorganization under AFMEDCOM represents a major shift aimed at enhancing efficiency and readiness across the medical force to ensure that medical operations are resilient, adaptable, and fully integrated into the Department of Air Force’s strategic framework.

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Eveline Yao, chief of staff, AFMEDCOM, and King, outlined the AFMEDCOM journey from concept to initiation and execution of the organization, highlighting its mission to prepare medics to operate in contested environments.

They explained and addressed questions about the current AFMEDCOM establishment timeline. A significant effort will be the inter-command transfer of DAF medical units under AFMEDCOM after reaching initial operating capability. The ICT sequence is scheduled to begin February 2025, and is a deliberate, conditions-based process in which medics will transfer from major commands into the new AFMEDCOM structure.

Yao clarified that personal actions such as deployments, promotions, and permanent change of stations will continue with minimal disruption as senior leaders act on the credo of “do no harm to medics.”

She stressed the importance of collaboration at all levels and the necessity of feedback from Airmen and Guardians to ensure a seamless AFMEDCOM transition.

“Embracing change is not a choice, it’s a necessity. We can do that by doing it together. It’s going to be challenging and historic,” Yao said. “We can build those collaborative teams so that we all have the same vision … the warfighter is counting on us to take care of them and get them home. They trust us, the nation trusts us, and we cannot let them down.”

AFMEDCOM is not just a new command, it represents a cultural change shaping how medical leaders train, equip, and deploy Air Force medics.

“Everybody here is now part of the AFMEDCOM team,” said Yao. “What we need you to do is go out there and make sure that everyone knows [how they can support] this command. We’re counting on you. We need leaders to lead in times of change.”

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Daniel Watson, chief of AFMS strategy and capabilities division, presented an overview of the AFMS governance framework, which projects the planning, programming, budgeting, and execution of the AFMEDCOM reorganization. The framework includes four committees with multiple working groups that address gaps and direct these concerns to the surgeon general.

The third day of the annual workshop concluded with another Q&A session led by DeGoes and Woods who addressed questions that ranged from manpower readiness requirements to supporting medical capabilities at military treatment facilities.

In a groundbreaking advancement of interoperability and cooperation, military forces from Japan, Australia and the United States will strengthen their Alliance when the military exercise, Yama Sakura 87, takes place from December 6 through December 14.

This iteration of YS87 also marks a historic milestone with the execution of the Warfighter command post exercise, held for the first time in Japan, and a significant event in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s history.

For the first time in the exercise’s 40 years history, YS87 will run simultaneously with the U.S. Army’s Warfighter exercise, creating an unprecedented opportunity to validate joint operational capabilities across the Pacific theater.

YS 87 also features the first-ever full participation from the U.S. III Marine Expeditionary Force alongside an expanded Australian Defense Force participation for the second consecutive year.

The concurrent execution of YS87 and the Warfighter exercise demonstrates multilateral partnership to conduct complex, multi-echelon operations across vast distances across multiple location to strengthen international partnerships.

Key highlights of the combined exercises include:

• Simultaneous execution of Yama Sakura 87 and U.S. Army warfighter exercise scenarios

• Integration of cutting-edge multi-domain operations across land, air, sea, space, and cyber domains

• Synchronized operations spanning Alaska, Hawaii, and Australia

• Enhanced focus on expeditionary advanced base operations

• Joint training in outlying island defense scenarios

Led by General Yasunori Morishita, Chief of Staff, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the exercise brings together elite units including the U.S. Army’s First Corps under Lt. Gen. Matthew McFarlane; III Marine Expeditionary Force under Marine Lt. Gen. Roger B. Turner; and the Australian Army’s 1st Division under Maj. Gen. Ash Collingburn.

Since its first iteration in 1982, Yama Sakura has demonstrated a continued commitment by both the United States and Japan to work together as dedicated Allies in support of the U.S.-Japan security treaty and for continued peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Building on this legacy, YS87 showcases the evolution of this now trilateral defense cooperation exercise by incorporating advanced military concepts including Cross-Domain Operations (CDO), Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), and Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO).

The exercise serves as a cornerstone of Operation Pathways, the U.S. Army Pacific’s premier series of exercises demonstrating America’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Part two of a five-part series covering the Air Force Surgeon General’s annual Senior Leadership Workshop. The 2024 theme is: “The Air Force Medical Service at 75 … Mission Ready, Operationally Relevant!”

Air Force medical leaders held discussions sessions on generating a medically ready force and healthcare operations under the new organizational framework of the Air Force Medical Command during day to of the Air Force Medical Service’s annual Senior Leadership Workshop, Dec. 4, 2024.

The day’s theme focused on efforts the Department of Air Force is taking to better prepare medical Airmen to support Airmen and Guardians for operations in a complex, contested environment during the era of Great Power Competition. Marked by a new security environment with emerging threats, senior leaders focused on four key areas to advance a medically ready force: developing people and capabilities, generating readiness, and projecting power.

Central to these strategies is the DAF’s efforts to establish AFMEDCOM, which is designed to streamline health care operations, improve medical readiness, and ensure that Airmen and Guardians are adaptive, resilient, and agile for operational missions worldwide.

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jason J. Lennen, director of policy and resources for the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, and Chief Master Sgt. Erik Robbins, AFMEDCOM senior enlisted leader, opened the day by reinforcing the need to change and describing AFMEDCOM’s approach to improving medical readiness.

“Readiness requires change and change requires a growth mindset,” Lennen said. “When we approach change, we should see it as an opportunity and a necessity to accelerate our mission goals.”

Victor Warnsley, senior technical advisor for the Air Force Medical Service manpower, personnel and resources programming office, discussed the importance of identifying and aligning Air Force Specialty Code educational requirements and training to support the operational needs outlined in the current unit manpower document, which ensure proper resource allocation for medical readiness.

Additionally, U.S. Air Force Col. Christian Lyons, Air Force Personnel Center chief of human resourcing and military medical career management, and U.S. Air Force Col. James Knowles, chief, medical recruitment and sustainment division, discussed Air Force Medical Service staffing prioritization. They acknowledged that each major command and installation will require tailored support from senior leaders and careful consideration in manpower allocation.

“The purpose of identifying staffing priorities is to align limited resources with mission priorities and improve communication about meeting major command and installation needs,” Lyons said.

Lt. Gen. John J. DeGoes, U.S. Air Force and Space Force Surgeon General, and Chief Master Sgt. James Woods, Medical Enlisted Force and Enlisted Corps Chief, provided closing remarks and concluded with a Q&A session, which focused on concerns regarding support for individual installations, impacts on medical Airmen, and efforts to balance medical readiness and health care delivery requirements.

As senior leaders asked questions about AFMEDCOM’s role in providing solutions for installations, Maj. Gen. Thomas. W. Harrell, MRC-Alpha commander, encouraged them to communicate the driving policies to installation leadership and their medical staff to foster an environment of transparency, accountability and collaboration, and seek support from AFMEDCOM leadership for further support when needed.

“The primary job of leaders at installations is to support the mission of the installation and collaborate with other decisionmakers to problem solve and address resource constraints,” Harrell said. “Your senior leaders will get rid of the barriers to executing those solutions. My goal going forward is to get us aligned so that the message about our priorities is standardized from this room to the clinics and across the Air Force.”

During a breakout session that concluded day two, Maj. Gen. Harrell and Maj. Gen. Jeannine M. Ryder, MRC-Bravo commander, facilitated discussions on strategies to advance medical readiness capabilities under the new command structure. These served as critical touchpoints for the intermediate management commands to synchronize operational goals and clarify their approach to executing the surgeon general’s priorities with leaders across the AFMS down to the installation, especially throughout the AFMEDCOM transition.

“My hope is that senior leaders will recognize their teammates, and in knowing the people, they will have transparent communication and find a collaborative environment for assessing risks and finding solutions together,” Ryder said.

Harrell reinforced the necessity of reaching a common understanding of how the reorganization will prepare medical Airmen to support operations in a complex, contested environment while supporting the DAF’s efforts to prepare for operations in an era of Great Power Competition. He empowered medical group leaders and staff to become adaptable to these changes for maintaining safe, quality care and readiness for the future fight.

“Times have changed from the unipolar world of decades ago,” he said. “In the past, we have always moved forward with changing attributes that needed to change so the Air Force can maintain superiority. Peer competition is on the horizon, so we must realign once again to meet these new challenges.”

Part one of a five-part series covering the Air Force and Space Force surgeon general’s annual Senior Leadership Workshop.

Lt. Gen. John J. DeGoes, U.S. Air Force and Space Force surgeon general, and Chief Master Sgt. James Woods, medical enlisted force and enlisted corps chief, kicked off the annual four-day Senior Leadership Workshop on Dec. 3, 2024. This year’s theme is: “The Air Force Medical Service at 75 … Mission Ready, Operationally Relevant!”

DeGoes and Woods highlighted the top three key operational medical priorities to ensure Airmen and Guardians are mission ready. These include integrated operational medical capabilities; caring for Airmen, Guardians, and families; and, partnering with the Defense Health Agency to deliver health care benefits for all beneficiaries.

While celebrating 75 years of the Air Force Medical Service community, Air Force medical leaders at the workshop discussed how the Air Force Medical Command transition will enhance the ability of warfighters to deploy at a moment’s notice and provide optimized health care delivery and support.

“I have two goals for all of you this week,” DeGoes said. “Understand where we’re going with Air Force Medical Command under the Air Force Medical Service, aligning our mission from senior leadership to all medical treatment facilities, and instill confidence that the plans we’re talking about are doable. At the headquarters, we are laser-focused on giving our medics the tools to be successful.”

“The readiness mission has always been at the heart of AFMS,” Woods added.

During the workshop, two Airmen received special recognition for earning awards that showcased their dedication to their creed as Air Force medics. Senior Airman Rachel Heath, from the 377th Medical Group, was recognized as one of 12 of the Air Force’s Outstanding Airmen of the Year for her superior leadership, job performance, and community involvement. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Devann Jordan earned the 2024 Angels of the Battlefield award, which pays tribute to military medical personnel for their life-saving medical treatment and trauma care of service members, partner forces, and civilians at home and abroad.

Fitting the day’s theme of generating mission ready medics, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. John R. Andrus, Joint Staff Surgeon, and Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Wigington, senior enlisted advisor to the Joint Staff Surgeon, gave a presentation on accepting change to address tomorrow’s challenges. They encouraged leaders to engage with and guide Airmen from all levels in the conversation of meeting future requirements.

“We are operating in an environment that is ever-changing, so we have to adapt and adjust for the future fight,” Andrus said. “We are training leaders to be decision-makers, to have faith and confidence in their choices … let’s have those conversations early. Empower your people.”

As the Department of Air Force establishes AFMEDCOM, its partnership with the DHA remains critical to health care delivery at home especially as warfighters serve in contingency operations. U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, DHA director, discussed the agency’s strategies to modernize the health care delivery model and drive better patient outcomes within the new AFMEDCOM structure. She previewed DHA’s plan to make the care experience more accessible, personalized, and connected for patients, providers, and health care staff through mobile applications for virtual care.

“We look at care through a patient-centric lens. We care about patient experience because it matters to their outcome,” Crosland said.

Day one continued with presentations from U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. David Epperson, special assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and U.S. Air Force Col. Tracy L. Allen, director of expeditionary medical policy and operations. They respectively spoke about developments in units of action and optimizing the future force presentation model for great power competition.

Additionally, the Integrated Operational Support team, represented by U.S. Air Force Col. Amalia Divittorio, chief of IOS, and U.S. Air Force Col. Lauren Wolf, chief of clinical quality management, discussed how IOS programming continues to positively impact operational units with embedded clinical care tailored to each unit’s mission and its sustained relevance to delivering safe, quality care.

As the day concluded, DeGoes and Woods hosted a Q&A session and shared closing remarks to inspire and refocus senior leaders in attendance.

“This workshop is more than an exchange of ideas,” DeGoes said. “It’s about creating a unified vision for the future of Air Force medicine. Every decision we make, every initiative we start, must serve one purpose: ensuring we are ready to meet the demands of tomorrow’s fight. Your leadership is critical to making this vision a reality.”

Woods echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the importance of mentorship and teamwork.

“Our medics are the heart of this mission,” Woods said. “As leaders, it’s our duty to cultivate their potential, provide them with the tools they need, and show them that their efforts are the foundation of our success. Let’s carry this momentum forward – together.”

VILSECK, Germany – Caroline Richard was living in Germany 30 years ago as an Army dependent with her husband when he was stationed in Fulda as a Soldier. Now she’s back, and the roles are reversed. Richard is a budget analyst with Army Field Support Battalion-Germany supporting the Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 program in Europe, and her husband is now retired and her dependent.

“We wanted to come back and capture some of that nostalgia we experienced then, now that our kids are grown up and gone to college,” Richard said. “We were practically teenagers then, and we had no money, but we really enjoyed ourselves. I wanted to try and capture some of that from 30 years ago, all over again.”

As a budget analyst at AFSBn-Germany, 405th Army Field Support Brigade, Richard is responsible for helping to manage the budget for the battalion headquarters in Vilseck as well as the APS-2 worksites in Germany, at Dülmen and Mannheim. AFSBn-Germany assumed mission command of the Colemen APS-2 worksite in Mannheim in July, and Richard arrived in August.

Richard said when she got to AFSBn-Germany the battalion had no one working in the budget office (S-8). The chief position was vacant, and her position as an analyst had been unfilled for months. Lucky for her, though, she said the brigade budget office was very helpful.

“Grace Berger [from the brigade headquarters] has been guiding me along the way, and helping me integrate into the position,” said Richard. “She’s helped me get a battle rhythm going, and she’s been extremely helpful. overall.”

Richard, who came from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, said the opportunity to be back in Germany after all these years and work in a broadening assignment with the 405th AFSB was the right decision, and a good career move for her. And she said she is excited to support the warfighter here in Europe.

“I’m at a place and a space where I feel this organization and assignment will help me grow beyond where I’ve been and what I’ve done previously,” said Richard who was the lead defense travel administrator at the 82nd Airborne Division before accepting the job with AFSBn-Germany earlier this year.

Richard started as federal employee 20 years ago while stationed with her husband in Naples, Italy. She was a secretary and an administrative assistant at the Department of Defense Education Activity in Naples. From there, she worked at Military Sealift Command before eventually moving to Fort Liberty to work at the hospital and then the 82nd.

Being separated from family can be tough, Richard said, but she looks forward to having her four children and two grandchildren visit soon. She said one of her sons is an engineer and may soon land a project in Frankfurt. Another son is Air Force stationed in Japan. She’s hopeful he’ll be able to hop a military flight from there to Ramstein Air Base, Germany. And her daughter, who just started at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, may visit next summer.

Separation aside, the 52-year-old native of Melville, Louisiana, and proud French Creole has high recommendations for anyone considering the 405th AFSB and coming to Europe to live and work on a three-year assignment.

“If they’re at a crossroads in life where they want something new and an opportunity to meet new people and experience another culture, I would highly recommend they apply for a position at the 405th AFSB,” said the Department of Defense certified financial management professional.

“We’re strategically positioned to directly support the warfighter, there’s a lot to offer here, and we have a lot of people here from different backgrounds who are all very supportive of each other,” said Richard, who is set to receive her Certified Defense Financial Manager credentials from the American Comptrollers Association, hopefully by August.

AFSBn-Germany is one of four battalions assigned to the 405th AFSB and is headquartered at Rose Barracks in Vilseck. The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The brigade provides materiel enterprise support to U.S. forces throughout Europe and Africa – providing theater sustainment logistics; synchronizing acquisition, logistics and technology; and leveraging AMC’s materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website at www.afsbeurope.army.mil and the official Facebook site at www.facebook.com/405thAFSB.