AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar -- AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar – U.S. Air Forces Central Command’s Manpower, Personnel, and Services (A1) hosted the annual Expeditionary Force Support Squadron (EFSS) Leadership Conference Oct. 3-4, 2018, at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. The conference served as an opportunity for the EFSS commanders to raise concerns to decision-makers at higher headquarters in an effort to better prepare deployed Airmen.
“We literally deal with everything that affects an Airman,” said Col. Devin Statham, AFCENT director of Manpower, Personnel, and Services at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. EFSS manages nearly every “non-work” facility on a deployed air base; from the rooms where Airmen sleep to the education and recreation centers. Col. Statham said that EFSS personnel support Airmen “morning to night, from the time they get here until the time they leave.”
The conference is strategically placed between when commanders and superintendents arrive in the summer and the AFCENT Commander’s Conference. This year’s EFSS conference deliberately focused on the individual commanders. In addition to attending briefings, each commander was given a slotted time during which they could discuss their unique issues in a forum with those who have the ability to change policy.
The benefit to having all of these people in the same room, as opposed to a teleconference, is immeasurable, said Major Tamekia Payne, AFCENT A1 (forward) deputy director. “We’re able to iron out issues that are long term and that will help reach the CFACC goal providing more enduring support structures and program improvements throughout the AOR. The most effective way to do that is still face-to-face.”
One major goal for this conference was to collaborate on a services support standard that can be applied across the theater, allowing Airmen to expect a certain level of resources when they visit any base in the AOR.