JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-Randolph, Texas -- Air Force active-duty, Reserve and Air National Guard members all wear the same uniform, salute the same flag and support the same mission. Improving this collaboration is the Total Force Integration team.
TFI officials visited Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph to learn from the successes and improve the challenges of JBSA-Randolph Airmen Feb. 4-6.
“We're here at Randolph to understand the unique organization with training units, the Reserve and the active-duty flying training squadrons, and how they interact and produce combat-ready pilots for the Air Force in a TFI structure,” said Brig. Gen. Thomas Grabowski, special assistant to the director, Air National Guard for Total Force Integration.
The TFI directorate, under Headquarters Air Force, was congressionally mandated in 2014 to integrate active duty, Reserve and Air National Guard and assess association effectiveness, conduct analysis and better connect the Air Force.
“We want to improve total force integration through our lines of effort by driving the policy and resourcing changes necessary to really break those barriers to integration,” said Col. Robin Bowman, TFI director, in her opening statement to 12th Flying Training Wing.
Through focus groups, data collection and meetings with leadership, TFI collects information on total force associations. Associations are agreements between two or more organizations that share resources and perform a common mission.
“We are truly here as facilitators, to explore and gather the data that works and doesn't work so that that information can be shared abroad,” said Brig. Gen. Scheid Hodges, special assistant to commander, Air Force Reserve Command for Total Force Integration.
Since JBSA-Randolph plays a critical role in training and development of Airmen, which resonates through their whole career, assessing how Randolph functions as an association is valuable to TFI.
“Right now, JBSA-Randolph is trailblazing for what total force is going to look like in the future,” Grabowski said. “We're excited about being here for the next couple of days to learn from total force partners and figure out what we can do to bottle the magic that happens here at Randolph, and replicate that in other areas of the Air Force portfolio.”