Photo By Airman 1st Class Jeffrey Tatro | U.S. Air Force Maj. Daniel McGuire takes the 315th Fighter Squadron guidon in an...... read more read more
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SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Vermont Air National Guard has lost an active-duty Air Force detachment and gained a squadron this January as part of the Total Force Integration (TFI) when Maj. Daniel McGuire assumed command of the 315th Fighter Squadron.
Although the VTANG has had active-duty members working there for about 10 years as a detachment, it is now one of the first few Guard bases to house an active-duty squadron. The inverse, Guard components at active-duty bases, has become fairly common.
Within the program’s concept, the Guard, Reserve and active-duty play equal parts in the Air Force mission of air and space superiority with a global presence ready day and night. Interoperability is essential, and that means consistent training with one another.
“We’re our own unit but we are fully and totally integrated into the Guard where your mission is our mission,” McGuire said about his assumption of command. “We don’t operate independently, but we bond and strengthen to help complete the mission. What we have become entails a more formal chain of command so our attachment folks here aren’t lost in the mix of the bigger Air Force.”
He called the change “a small piece to the giant puzzle” of TFI and said other than strengthening Vermont’s airpower, will not affect any part of how the Vermont Guard does business. Instead, it reflects the need for mentorship among the active-duty Airmen. Due to differences in promotion structure, active-duty Airmen’s careers have had the potential to lag in promotion without a clear supervisor filling out the proper forms that Guardsmen don’t as of yet use.
He sees his position as an advocate among the active-duty Airmen – a mentor to gently nudge them toward the excellence he knows they can achieve while they are getting the unique opportunity to work with their Guard counterparts.
McGuire, who is just leaving his position as director of operations at Kunsan Air Base, has had some experience in observing TFI operations while serving previously as assistant director of operations at Tucson, Arizona. Working so much with people has refined his communications skills, and he said that his ability to connect with others is a strengths that will be useful as he works with Airmen within the program.
For active-duty Staff Sgt. Robert Chistensen, a machinist and welder who has been at the VTANG for about a year, the structural change is a step in the right direction for TFI participants. While still unsure how it will affect him in his duties, he said he believes it will make the active-duty Airmen feel more like a cohesive unit. He said that being part of an active-duty detachment at a Guard base has made him feel, in his words, “detached.”
For example, when a supervisor gave out information to the group, a lot of the information would be for Guard only, and the supervisor would turn to him and say, “This doesn’t apply to you.”
“But now as a detachment becoming a squadron, we will feel more integrated into the base,” he said. “There will be less differentiation between you guys and us guys – it will be our guys, working as Green Mountain Boys rather than TFI versus Guard.”
The program is a win-win for Guardsmen, active-duty Airmen and taxpayers.
Taxpayers’ money is saved because now the active-duty aircraft are being housed at Guard bases that already have the space and equipment, significantly reducing the costs by not having separate installations.
The active-duty Airmen have the opportunity to train under decades of accumulated knowledge with the Vermont Guardsmen. Active-duty military people tend to stay in one place for a few years and might have shifting responsibilities. In the Guard, many members have been working with the equipment for decades and display a level of expertise that is noted by the Air Force for their top quality.
The Guardsmen gain the added resources of extra aircraft, pilots and the maintainers. In Vermont’s case, having the 315th increases the base’s aircraft presence by 25 percent – a boon to the security of the state as well as this part of the continent.
“Both sides benefit because they will have access to an infusion of ideas by combining the Guard’s rich experience level with the fresh sets of eyes and experience the active-duty side has,” McGuire noted.
Another benefit: New VTANG members that already love the base.
Master Sgt. Miranda Shaw, currently in the Quality Assurance office, was an Airman 1st Class when she came with the first wave of active-duty Airmen to joint train with the VTANG. Back then the TFI was called Community Basing and she had no idea what to expect. Ten years later she has since officially joined the VTANG and has her life based firmly in the community.
“It’s funny how life happens- before I enlisted I lived in California but wanted to go to college in Vermont,” she shared. “To pay for college I joined the military and they sent me to Vermont!”
From her perspective, she thinks she’s had a more enriching career by being imbedded with the Guard. Although she doesn’t move from base to base, she said that when she compares tours of duty with her technical school colleagues, she’s gone more places than most of them have and without having to uproot her family. In a way, she said, she’s had the best of both worlds.
The idea of combining the best of both worlds to strengthen the Air Force mission is exactly the purpose of the TFI. As budgets and warfare tactics change, so must our military. The Air Force, including the Vermont Air National Guard, adapts to meet every challenge and obstacle head on.
| Date Taken: | 01.10.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 01.10.2016 14:20 |
| Story ID: | 185974 |
| Location: | SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT, US |
| Web Views: | 1,162 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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