Setting goals: creating the roadmap to achieve vision

  • Published
  • By Col. "Tip" Stinnette
  • 39th Air Base Wing Commander
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Imagine a pilot coming over the intercom and announcing, "I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is we have lost one engine and our navigation aids are not working. The good news is we have a tail wind and wherever we are going, we are going to get there really fast."

For most of us, the notion of flying along like that plane, directionless but being pushed along swiftly by the winds of circumstance, would be disconcerting news. In this analogy, the navigation aids are the goals supporting and serving as a road map to the vision. This article is the third in the series on our vision, mission and goals.

Our organizational vision is to project the most respected and versatile mission support capability in U.S. Air Forces in Europe and our mission is to provide full-spectrum, world-class forward operating support to expeditionary forces while developing the professional talents of our men and women.

The purpose of this article is to explain the navigation aids that will help us accomplish our mission while progressing toward our vision.

Goal setting is a logical approach to dynamic organizational achievement. Success is not achieved by hope but rather it is realized through thoughtful planning. In order to plan for success, we need goals. Along this line we have three distinct goals that are designed to serve as our plan for success.

Our goals as an organization are focused mission support, development of professional talents and improvement of community services.

The goal of focused mission support is all about continuing to expand our mission support capabilities for expeditionary operations.

We are living this right now as one of the largest cargo hubs in the world supporting the flow of supplies to Operation Iraqi Freedom and serving the NATO and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Pakistani earthquake relief effort.

While we work to improve our ability to support expeditionary operations, we must not lose sight of our core charter to be guardians of our critical resources which is a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week and 365- days-a-year responsibility that cannot fail.

Development of the professional talents of our men and women is a multi-facetted goal which seeks to support the development of our expeditionary competencies as deployable individuals and teams while nourishing the multiple dimensions of fitness: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

The Combat and Special Interest Programs are key enablers in the development of our collective professional talents.

Improvement of community services as a goal recognizes the importance of our community family and strives to increase community outreach programs while integrating deployment and redeployment support. Volunteerism and community involvement across the spectrum of installation activities is absolutely crucial to achieving this goal.

Many of you will recall the Three Fs of Incirlik: Family, Fitness and Focus. The Three Fs of Incirlik are another way to think of the three goals described above. We are who we are and where we are because of what we let inhabit our goal-box. Let's endeavor to commit to the Incirlik vision, mission and goals so we can continue to be the most respected and versatile mission support capability in USAFE. Bring your courage, conviction and communication.