I read an article in the Air Force Times this evening about initiatives the Air Force is rolling out in an attempt to conserve energy. Many of the plans make a lot of sense and I am fully behind them. Ideas such as finding ways to conserve jet fuel while still ensuring pilots get all their required training and using solar panels to help power airfield lighting, hangars, etc. are both excellent ideas. They would not only benefit the environment around us, but in the long term would net financial savings as well. In this day and age where tax dollars are spent by the truckloads, anything we can do to give the tax payer the best bang for their buck is fine by me.
What I am not behind is the plan to create a CBT (computer based training) to teach Airmen how they can be better at conserving energy. In this day and age of ever increasing deployment lengths (6 months - 1 year are becoming the norm) and increased taskings, this is yet one more thing to throw upon our Airmen who already have a lot on their plate. It also seem to be contrary to the Air Force's AFSO21 (Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century) credo of doing less with less.
Isn't there a way to to incorporate energy saving tips into everyday training? Or how about making this a point of discussion during existing squadron/flight/workcenter meetings or the mandatory feedback sessions that all supervisors are required to conduct with their subordinates. I would bet money that the majority of Airmen are more apt to understand and put those things into practice from face to face discussions then from clicking through yet another boring CBT. With all the CBTs that the Air Force now requires us to take, many personnel (I'm one of them) simply just click through without really reaping any benefit from them. In many cases (while extreme, they are not uncommon) Airmen are spending more time on CBTs and additional duties than concentrating on their primary specialty and that is absolutely unacceptable. Bottom line: Teach our Airmen how to conserve energy, but do so in a way that doesn't bestow any more of a burden on them than they are already carrying.
Another concern I have with the proposed CBT is that it is yet another movement away from face to face interaction between supervisors and subordinates. There is a disturbing trend in the Air Force to fix every problem by sitting an Airman in front of a computer. For those that weren't aware, promotion selection announcements are now made through online notification. Granted, unit leadership is stil encouraged to make face to face congrats, but the days of your unit commander/First Sergeant surprising you with a set of stripes seems to be headed for the history books. More and more we are creating supervisors who have absolutely zero idea how to interact with their Airmen because most everything is being accomplished through computers. Phone calls and face to face conversations are becoming a thing of the past because it is so much more "convenient" to simply send an e-mail.
If the Air Force was looking out for the best interest of it's personnel, then I, as a supervisor would receive training on this from my boss and in turn pass the knowledge onto my subordinates. After all, it is MY responsibility to ensure the readiness of my subordinates. There's no better way to gauge the effectiveness of the training then through personal interaction. A certificate received for completing a CBT tells me nothing more than you completed the CBT. It tells me absolutely zero of what you actually learned and retained.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Good article Tommy!
ReplyDelete