Manpower; here to help

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, OK, UNITED STATES

07.28.2016

Story by Senior Airman Nathan Clark 

97th Air Mobility Wing

“The core function of our job is to determine for a work center or squadron how many people they need,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Austin Smith, 97th Force Support Squadron management analyst. “We have four primary core competencies that we use: requirements determination, programs allocation and control, organization structure and performance management. These tools will help us find out how many of each rank it will take for an office to function proficiently.”
To find this information, manpower analysts put in countless hours of work both behind a desk and out in the field.
“During our studies, there’s a lot of math,” said Smith. “We can also spend a significant amount of time at offices and see how people work, what they do and how long it takes to complete a task.”
With some studies lasting up to two years, the results they get are worth the time and effort.
“Manpower’s goal when doing these studies is to standardize work centers so that 95 percent of everyone in the Air Force is working at that level,” said Smith. Striving for perfection, any subject that falls in the other five percent is studied to see what and why they do things differently. “Some offices will be operating under unique circumstances, such as a maintenance shop in a very cold climate will have more work due to the weather. We want to make sure no one is left out or overlooked so they get all the people they need.”
In addition to keeping offices manned, manpower also helps identify why some are more successful.
“Efficiency is two-fold,” said Smith. “We can help identify a better product or the process used to complete a task faster than others. The other part is seeing how many people are needed to complete are certain task.”
With that, sometimes manning cuts are then deemed necessary, but the manpower office wants to emphasize that they’re not out to take away jobs.
“Right now our main focus is not to cut, but to maintain and keep the maximum number of people we can,” said Andrew Barnes, 97th Force Support Squadron management analyst. “The Air Force scaled back on size a few years ago and now we’re seeing it was too much. We’re here to help and we want people to know that.”
One of the most recent and important additions manpower has brought to Altus is the soon-to-be activated 56th Air Refueling Squadron and the KC-46 schoolhouse.
“Manpower was an intricate part of the KC-46 program being set up,” said Smith. “The team that did the study had to build the squadron from the ground up, determining how many people are going to be needed to carry out that mission.”
For this study, as well as any other, Manpower analysts don’t just sit behind a desk and crunch numbers.
“My favorite part is getting out there and meeting people and seeing how they operate,” said Smith. “I get to see the Air Force through a different lens almost every week. We can spend two years on one office and really get immersed in that job and learn it.”
Now comes the good part; if you have an interest in math and enjoy work that has lasting impacts, the manpower office is recruiting.
“This is a cross-train only career field because we need to have people who know the Air Force and want to do the job,” said Barnes. “Any applicant has to take a basic algebra test, a written test and a verbal conversation so we know that not only can they do the work, but they can relay that information to our customers.”
As they look for others to help them, Manpower will continue to help commanders by providing them with invaluable knowledge of workload needs and identifying the process’s to complete a mission.
If you are interested in cross-training you may contact Staff Sgt. Smith at 580 481-7844.

• Date Taken: 07.28.2016
• Date Posted: 07.28.2016 10:49
• Story ID: 205323
• Location: ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, OK, US