JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- Lt. Col. Ross Dotzlaf, chief of facility sustainment restoration and modernization in the AFIMSC Installation Support Directorate, is the chair for Mission Area Working Group 1 at the 2023 Installation and Mission Support Weapons and Tactics Conference.
The out-briefs will take place on Oct. 4, with the four MAWGs delivering their solutions to installation and mission support challenges to Air Force and Space Force leaders here.
Dotzlaf and his team are developing solutions for the following topic:
Reconfiguring Garrison Installation & Mission Support to Enable AFFORGEN Implementation.
The Department of the Air Force is considering a new force presentation model, known as Air Force Force Generation, that will realign personnel from across the existing garrison installation and mission support enterprise structure into standing Air Task Forces, Expeditionary Air Base Squadrons, and Mission Support Teams. However, no additional manpower is expected in the near term. Therefore, MAWG 1 will establish a framework to identify potential installation risks, and present options to inform decisions on manpower, levels of service and other courses of action to mitigate impacts across the enterprise. The team’s efforts will directly inform AFFORGEN implementation work being led by the deputy chief of staff for operations, Headquarters Air Force.
We asked Dotzlaf a few questions about the topic, serving as a MAWG chair and how the team’s solutions will impact the Air and Space Forces.
• Please describe why you feel you were chosen for the topic and what experience you bring to the team.
I feel I was chosen for this topic based on my experience as a career mission support officer and my understanding of how manpower/resources impact garrison installation and mission support capabilities. My most recent-relevant experience includes civil engineer squadron command at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, from 2018 to 2020 and Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, from 2020 to 2022.
• Why is the topic you’re solving for important for the DAF?
Installations serve as the platforms from which our Air and Space forces project the five core missions, and the new AFFORGEN model will present many challenges to our ability to deliver support to our installations. This MAWG will help the DAF understand the nature of these challenges and inform solutions that may mitigate negative impacts to our mission.
• How does it feel to be part of an event that can change the Air and Space Forces?
It is an honor to have been chosen as chair for this topic. I feel our team’s efforts will help the DAF understand the challenges that AFFORGEN implementation could have on garrison operations and inform solutions that may mitigate negative impacts to the mission.
This year’s event will be recorded, and the video will be made available shortly after the conference. Visit the 2023 I-WEPTAC website for the link more information.