The United States Air Force: An Organizational Inquiry
Recently the United States Air Force is facing some issues and problems regarding the lack of leadership commands that it now faces in the current resignation of Air Force secretary last January and that of his Undersecretary a few weeks ago. The Pentagon decided to take over of the buying power of the said military arm since they believe that there is no one yet who is in the position to take on the responsibility on some military decision-making and tasks that are currently needed to be addressed. The Department of Defense is now taking in charge to support and to assist the Air Force Command by overseeing and providing advice on important Air Force programs during a time of transition. It was clarified however that within the next six months, a new Air Force Secretary will be appointed. At present though, the Air Force is under the temporary command of Lt. Col.
All organizations whether it be in the business industry, socio-civic, private or government-regulated face the challenge of running the whole system according to the principles as well as the goals and objectives of the system. The organization normally is confronted with how it will operate accordingly to meet the expectations and put up with the responsibilities and duties of the members as well as the departments that make up the whole system. The changes in the surroundings of the workplace in the internal as well as in the external environment and affairs make influence the overall operations of the structure. The military is not an exemption in this regard even for the fact that the defense team of a country undergo regulations that are very systemic and defined. There are internal as well as external affairs, issues and problems that should be attended to in order for the whole organization to function fully and provide the necessary outputs being demanded. That is why it is interesting to look at a certain military arm experience a challenge of change in the system to be able to fit in the constantly changing global and wide social context on which it operates.
Air Force Organizational Structure
Just like other organizations, the United States Air Force is composed of complicated and systematic divisions. The people in this particular service are classified not just according to ranks. Since the recruits in this defense arm came from different state with varying cultural orientation, it is but expected that the people in this service are also diverse. Their skills and knowledge on other fields and disciplines are also considered in assigning them in particular units. The basic chain of command in the US Air Force include the Airmen, the Section, the Flight, the Squadron, the Group, the Wing, the Numbered Air Force, the Major Command (MAJCOM) and the Air Force.
The Airman is a single Air Force member who is the most basic unit in the organization. This could be the training officer, a trainee, a pilot, an engineer, a medical person and other staff who works or is in the service in the Air Force. The Section is composed of two or more Airmen. The word is also the term used to refer to the place where a particular Airman works. Each section is composed of element commanded by the element leader. Examples include the Administrative Section and the life Support Section. It should be noted however that an Airman does not necessarily need to be a member or part of a section. There are Airmen who do not belong to a Section but are instead members of a Flight or Group. Two or more Airmen can make up a Flight. The case can also be that of two or more Sections that compose a Flight. There are three types of Flight namely the Alpha, the Numbered and the Functional Flights. Numbered Flights incorporate small mission elements into an organized unit just like in the basic training. Alpha Flights are components of a Squadron and with identical missions while the Functional Flights are composed of elements with specific missions like the Military Personnel Flight and the Social Actions Flight. Normally the individual people or Section that will be part of a Flight depends upon how the Squadron is organized.
Two or more Flights form a Squadron which is the lowest level of command with a headquarters element. In the Air Force, the Lt. Col. is the Squadron commander although smaller Squadrons maybe commanded by majors, captains, and sometimes even lieutenants and are usually identified numerically and by function. A Group in the Air Force usually consists of two or more Squadrons with similar functions. For example, the Logistics Group will include the Supply, Transportation, Aircraft and Maintenance Squadrons while the flying Squadrons will be assigned in the Operations Group just like the Dental and the Medical Squadrons in the medical Group. Normally, the Groups take on the number of the Wing they are assigned to and the commander is usually a colonel. The Wing is composed of two or more Groups and there is only one Wing in an Air Force base. The commanders in the Wings are usually called the Installation Commanders. There are two types of Wings. The Composite Wing operates more than one kind of aircraft and individual composite wings can have different missions. Objective Wings on the other hand consolidate responsibilities and clarify the line of command and may have operational missions such as air combat, flying training or airlift, Objective Wings also provide support to a MAJCOM or a geographically separated unit (GSU) and could have specialized missions. But whatever the Wing’s mission, every Wing conforms to the concept of “one base, one wing, one boss”. Wing commanders usually hold the rank of Brigadier General. A Numbered Air Force is usually assigned for geographical purposes and primarily used only during wartime. When there are no threats to peace, they generally consist of a limited number of headquarters staff who will prepare and maintain the plans for wartime. The MAJCOMs are where the Wings usually make direct report and the MAJCOMs report directly to the Headquarters, the Air Force.
There is no specific number of individuals or personnel who belong in a particular element because the size of the element usually depends on the type of unit and mission. The demand of the function of the profession dictates the size or number of specific people who will belong in a particular unit.
Communication within the Air Force
The highly technological global setting that we face at present, demands that communication and interaction between individuals are channeled in the most efficient way possible. The advances in communication technology like the popularity of the wireless communication, the Internet and the all-seeing roaming satellites around the planet makes it easy to connect with different individuals in our society. Yet these advances in communication technology are all wasted if interaction and shared meanings between communicating people are not employing the same language game in the same context.
The US Air Force is a complex organization operating in varying environments. The members of this service themselves also came from different cultural orientation. The diversity within the service is in itself a challenge in the communication setting in the organization. The systemic structure presented above likewise contributes to the challenge of efficient communication in the Air Force. Communication plays a vital role in the efficient military procedures and strategies tat Air Force does. The line of command is from the commander to the pilots wherein obedience keeps the mission in full operation. The problem with this kind of communication is that the troop is unaware of the procedures of the mission unless the instructions are laid out to them by the commander. Efficient communication process is necessary in all types of organization in order to reach out to all members of the organization.
In the Air Force, there are challenges that need to be overcome in terms of good communication processes inside the organization. These include the geographic dispersion of members, the diverse organizational elements, significant part-time organizational membership, the bureaucratic structures and the operating environment.
According to (2001) there are three classifications of communication challenges that the Air Force faces: those posed by organizational characteristics, those posed by organizational environment and communication constraints between and among individual members. Issues and problems on the organizational nature and characteristics of the said organization can be overcome through an effective centralized communication strategy that the leaders and figures of authority in the organization may examine and study to provide better and more efficient communication among all members of the said defense arm. To answer the diverse organizational elements and job specifications within the Air Force in which each formed subculture exhibits their own unique ways and trends, recommended that senior leaders must be able to communicate their message of a single overarching vision to a varied audience. The bureaucratic structure and the possibility of miscommunication and misinterpretations of command and orders from the figures of authority to the troops in the field should also be given proper consideration. Reservists or those who are in the service for part-time duties only should also make it a point to make up with the trainings that they miss compared to what the full-time members receive.
Since the environment on which the Air Force operates constantly change, the organization should have the ability to transform itself in order to fit and conform to such changes for more effective operations. The senior leaders should allow the troops the freedom to shape and decide on their portions of the organization consistent with the guidance of the senior leaders themselves. Updates of commands, orders, mission, strategies and plans should be frequently made for efficient assignments by utilizing the processes of good communication strategies. Other communication challenges include the tendency of individuals to lack guidance when they are unmotivated to seek it, construing meanings in the lack of leadership and dealing with conflicting information as well as information overload. All these should be addressed effectively so that the Air Force will be able to provide the service that the country deserves.
The Line of Command and Leadership
The ever changing security environment in the operational domain of the Air Force contributes to the complex dimension of the said profession. The threats that regularly appear to the headquarters are the constant concern of the senior leaders and staff of the organization. The fact that the United States military forces fall under the elected and the appointed civilians also pose issues and problems in running and overall functioning of the organization. The leadership strategies are likewise in constant change whenever there is a need to replace the former commander in chief. This demands adjustment not just on the part of the people who will be closely working with the new officer but also transformation whether immediate or long-term on all the people and the structuring of the organization. Another complex dimension of the structure of the Air Force is their external relation with other defense arms of the country namely the Navy and the Army. It is answerable to the Department of Defense which is constitutionally designed to balance the judicial and legislative bodies of the national administration. The Congress also influences the decisions that will be enacted in the Air Force since the budget is duly accorded to the organization through the approval of the members of the Congress.
(1994) stated that leadership remains to be the most baffling arts and as long as we do not know exactly what makes men get up out the hole in the ground and go forward in the face of death at a word from another man, leadership will remain one of the highest and most elusive of qualities. It will remain an art. In the online article looked deeper into the Leadership model which highlights the appropriate leadership style based on the “maturity” or “development level” of the followers and yet it does not adequately address other military considerations such as the level at which leadership is exercised; different styles that may be required because of the demands of combat; staff versus operational leadership; or the differing styles appropriate to service, joint, or combined leadership. He further summarized the substance of some studies and theories which reflects a gradual evolution from an authoritarian leadership style based on orientation which assumes that followers are not sufficiently mature or motivated to be allowed much autonomy to a democratic orientation that seeks to motivate the employee to feel that he or she is a contributing part of the organization. That evolution has contributed to the development of total quality management (TQM) and a quality Air Force (QAF) that seeks to further empower the employee. According to the total quality philosophy, “the challenge of our leaders is to invert the organizational pyramid and change the role of the leader or manager to a more supportive and empowering one.”
The entirety of the Air Force is composed of the regular Air Force, the Air National Guards and the Air Force Reserve and includes eight major commands which boasts an enlisted force of 288, 720 under the command of 69, 466 officers. The Secretary of the Air Force is the civilian head of the Air Force who is responsible for the formulation and implementation of Air Force policies consistent with the national security plan. He is appointed by the President with Senate approval and reports to the Secretary of Defense yet he has no command authority. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is the top uniformed position in the Air Force, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is responsible for the general readiness of the US Air Force without direct command authority. The MAJCOMs, Numbered Air Force, Wings, Group, Squadron and Flights are all under the command and supervision of the Secretary and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. The US Air Force is a highly diverse and complex organization. The nature and characteristics of the environment on which it operates as well as the varying personalities and cultural orientation of its members confronts the organization with lack of effective leadership and good communication of commands and orders between and among senior officers and the individual troop members. A lot of its members are deployed all over the world, living in a cultural environment that is unfamiliar and foreign. The wide dispersion and the geographic constraints that beset the operations of the organization and the rapid and unpredictable technological changes make it difficult to accommodate and live up to the expectations that the society demands from each and every personnel of this particular defense arm.
It would be of great help to all the members and to the whole organization itself to employ efficient communication measures that could be utilized in order to answer and attend to the responsibilities of the service.
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