Personal Ownership Published July 30, 2009 By Col. Trevor Noel Mission Support Group Commander Aug/Sept 2009 -- Members of the 180th FW, I would like to briefly discuss a very important topic I see as being absolutely critical to our success in the near future. The topic is "personal ownership" but before I get into the ownership discussion let me provide a quick stage setting overview of what we the members of the 180th FW are about to undertake. First, as most of you already know we have a Phase 2 Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI) scheduled for 28 July - 3 August 2010. Our goal as a Wing is earning an Outstanding on this inspection. We have made some major strides as a Wing thus far to make the Outstanding possible. With the May ORE under our belts and many lessons learned we are preparing for our second ORE scheduled for 6 - 9 August. The May ORE was a walk-through and scaled back ORE which allowed us the opportunity to figure out where we need to apply most of our attention and effort. Overall the May ORE did exactly what we intended, it was the walk before we run test and we did just that. As we head into the August ORE I want you to know the stakes have been raised and we have added more to our plates. Simply put the Aug ORE will look MUCH more like a full up ORI and thus we need each and everyone in the Wing FULLY engaged and with positive attitudes. In a similar fashion we will take the lessons learned in August into the October ORE once again adding just a little more to the plate. One point to note is that through August we will be evaluated by a mostly internal Exercise Evaluation Team (EET). Although we will continue this building block approach through the October 09, April 10 and June 10 OREs we will shift gears once more and bring in a mostly "external EET." Yes the pressure will be on because they will be paid to put us through a more demanding pace even more so than the IG themselves. No we do not desire pain, what we desire is perfection which is what it will take to achieve an Outstanding on today's Air Combat Command (ACC) ORIs. I for one am confident we are up to the challenge and will do everything in my control to help us achieve our goal. This is where you come in; it will take EVERY member in this Wing, both ORI players and non-players, to do everything in their control to help us achieve our goal of outstanding. So, as I mentioned in my opening comments, my request and challenge to each and every one of you is to take "personal ownership" of the things you are responsible for. If you are truly responsible you will also hold yourself accountable for the results of your efforts. In essence "personal ownership" is ALL about being responsible for your duties and role in your organizations and in turn being accountable for the results. I promise you if each and every member in this Wing adopts this attitude and mind-set we will easily get an Outstanding on the ORI. Most importantly with this mind-set our collective efforts will make the ORI easy. I will close by saying what I'm looking for is Wing synergy. Simply put "the sum of the parts is greater than the whole." Thanks in advance for your efforts.