FSS continues to blaze trail with merger

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Joel Langton
  • 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - --  Air Education and Training Command's director of Manpower, Personnel and Services said the 47th Force Support Squadron continues to set the mark when it comes to transitioning into the new squadron format. 

March 5, 2007, the 47th Mission Support Squadron and the 47th Services Division were the first units in the Air Force to merge into one squadron, the 47th Force Support Squadron. Since then, numerous squadrons in the command and Air Force have followed the 47th FSS's lead, but none have passed them. 

Colonel Bruce Lovely, AETC's director of Manpower, Personnel and Services said there is a simple reason for that. "As I walk the halls here and visit people, something is very obvious to me," Colonel Lovely said, "Everyone here is motivated and excited because they realize every piece of paper they touch impacts someone's life and career." 

He said that creating the first FSS presented challenges but Laughlin cleared each and every hurdle. "Whenever you take three very unique communities you're going to run into some problems but Laughlin has done great," said Colonel Lovely. 

In the near future, every mission support squadron and services squadron in the Air Force will follow Laughlin's lead, completing the merge in much the same way Laughlin did. One thing Laughlin did very well, said Col. Lovely, is team build. 

"It was all about building a team," said Colonel Lovely. "And Laughlin did that really well, you can see evidence of that here today. They built a new name, new coin ensuring that it is no longer a functional stovepipe." 

"They were very careful to make sure they didn't perpetuate the past but had everyone looking to the future," Colonel Lovely said. 

The merger reflects an Air Force wide trend, Colonel Lovely said. "We're developing more generalists that can work across many different spectrums, but there are still pockets of specialists like manpower that hasn't evolved into either community. At some point, they'll probably have a special experience identifier to help keep people on tracks." 

If you ask anyone on the AETC staff, they will tell you the Laughlin merger has been a huge success, "Before I left, I asked my staff what problems they were having with Laughlin and they gave me nothing," he said. "That's a testament to how hard everyone here is working to make this succeed!"