SCOTT AIR FORC BASE, Ill. -- Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center activated Detachment 9 in a ceremony at Air Mobility Command May 7.
Maj. Gen. Theresa Carter, AFIMSC commander, presided over the ceremony as Col. Mark H. McCloud assumed command of the newly established detachment.
"We are the world's most powerful air force," McCloud said. "With that we have the most innovative, most capable installation and mission support Airmen who are dedicated to ensure mission success, and I know that is true of the team here."
AFIMSC was established to help the Air Force make the best use of limited resources in the management and operation of its installations by reducing costs, creating efficiencies and eliminating redundant activities. It is establishing detachments at nine major commands and one direct reporting unit in order to best support the needs of the commands while leveraging centralized capabilities in the AFIMSC headquarters. AFIMSC has six primary subordinate units and two direct reporting units.
Detachment 9 combines and oversees functions in the comptroller, civil engineer, communications, security forces, personnel and support career fields.
While Airmen in these career fields won't see a change in their chain of command at the base level, the funding and guidance flow will be impacted starting in fiscal 2016, when AFIMSC takes control of installation and mission support funding.
Working at AMC, Carter said she gained a great appreciation for the command's mission and how it was performed, which helped prepare her in establishing the AFIMSC.
"If you look at how airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation have evolved over time, it ties in perfectly with what we are trying to do with AFIMSC ... change. Those missions have evolved and changes were born out of innovation," Carter said. "What it looks like today and what it started out as (is) very, very different, but the capability that it provides is unrivaled. And mobility Airmen do it better than anybody else."
McCloud spoke about the challenges the new detachment will face in the future.
"Changing the way we do business, in a resource constrained environment, doing the same amount of work with fewer people but in a more efficient manner, is going to be a challenge no doubt," the Det. 9 commander said. "But I have full confidence in you (AFIMSC Det. 9 Airmen) and I am proud to be a part of this detachment."
Looking to the future, Carter said she was absolutely confident in the entire AFIMSC team's capabilities.
"We will provide responsive, effective, efficient and perhaps, most importantly, mission-focused support to our commanders around the world," Carter said.
Centralized management of installation support capabilities at AFIMSC and its detachments ensures each installation receives the necessary level of support to execute Air Force priorities.
The AFIMSC headquarters was activated in a ceremony May 5 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Three hundred and fifty people will be assigned to the headquarters, and up to 41 Airmen will be assigned to Det. 9.