Estep focuses on developing leaders

  • Published
  • By Shannon Carabajal
  • AFIMSC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – Since assuming her position as the new AFIMSC executive director last fall, Lorna Estep has gained a greater appreciation for people across the center and their diverse missions.

“I’ve been really impressed with the people I’ve met and their passion about their mission and their jobs,” she said. “That is a great sign of a healthy organization, when people are able to talk about what they do with a sense of pride. I’ve been very impressed with that.”

Past assignments at Air Force Materiel Command and Air Force headquarters – where she was involved in early discussions about the creation of AFIMSC – gave her some insight into the center’s overall mission. She took a closer look into how the center executes that mission during immersion briefings over the past month.

“It’s a very dynamic mission and there are a lot of diverse activities going on at AFIMSC. There are some common denominators, but there are also things very unique about (our primary support units),” she said.

In addition to supporting AFIMSC Commander Maj. Gen. Brad Spacy and his strategic initiatives, the executive director looks forward to helping the workforce succeed and grow.

“I may not do the work (in the field), but I want to make it easier to get the work done,” she said. “I look to my customers - the Airmen who work for AFIMSC and their chain of command – to tell me what’s preventing them from doing their job or what’s preventing them from doing it efficiently or effectively.

“I like to think I’m in the barrier removal business; let me work those issues.”

Estep is passionate about workforce development and building future installation and mission support leaders.

One of her goals is ensuring people across the center get the development they need to grow in their jobs – from functional training to developmental activities designed to help Airmen mature into better I&MS leaders – so they can be better supervisors in the Air Force of the future.

“Who grows the next generation of leaders who understands the complexity of what goes on in the mission and at the installations? That’s us,” she said.

She also plans to help Airmen at all levels across the Air Force understand AFIMSC’s role and potential.

“I think the leadership in the Air Force understands the potential for AFIMSC, but I think there needs to be some more grassroots interaction at the base level to have them fully understand,” she said.

Starting her career as a Navy logistics management intern, Estep has an extensive background directing logistics programs across the Department of Defense. Before joining AFIMSC, she served as the director of resource integration, deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering and force protection for the Air Force.

For more information about her career, read her biography at https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/104786/lorna-b-estep/.