301 FW commander unveils FY15 Vector Check Published Feb. 11, 2015 By Capt. Candice Allen 301st Fighter Wing Public Affairs NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH JOINT RESERVE BASE, Texas -- Zig Ziglar, a famous motivator speaker, once said, "Outstanding people have one thing in common: An absolute sense of mission." This is why unveiling priorities remains essential to the success of an organization. Last October in a room packed with squadron and group commanders, Col. John Breazeale, 301st Fighter Wing commander here, revealed his Vector Check for fiscal year 2015 during a senior leadership staff meeting 10 days before the unit training assembly. "Our wing's mission remains the same," he began. "Train and deploy combat-ready Airmen." However, this fiscal year's four priorities are slightly different: · 44th Fighter Group path to full operational capability (FOC) · Refine and increase support to Airmen and families · Develop and empower Airmen leaders · Strengthen continuous improvement culture "Our first priority puts our newest 301 FW mission, the 44 FG's new association with the 325 FW at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., at the forefront," Breazeale said. The 44 FG, a geographically separated unit that flies the F-22 Raptor and T-38, recently relocated from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., to Tyndall in the summer of 2014 -- manning within the group dwindled with the move. "This new mission requires we establish programs and hire professionals to support the active component at Tyndall. Airmen both at Tyndall and here are instrumental in getting our new fighter group to FOC as soon as possible," he said. The other priorities focus on the 301 FW Airmen, their families and our culture, with the second emphasizing the role of the family. "Our increased operations tempo in the Reserve and our active component population require we take a hard look at how we support our Airmen and their families." To that end, the commander wants the wing to improve its Airman and Family Readiness and Equal Opportunity processes, emphasize the support Airmen receive from the chaplain and Sexual Assault and Response program, and continue to develop programs such as psychological health and Key Spouse. The Key Spouse program has become instrumental in refining and increasing support. Mrs. Karen Breazeale, wife of the wing commander, expanded the role of this program. "When I got here about a year ago, they had a good Key Spouse Program in place, but it was mainly focused on deployments," Mrs. Breazeale told Citizen Airman Magazine associate editor Bo Joyner during an interview. "We want to make sure all 301st Fighter Wing family members know someone has their back -- not only during deployments, but all the time." The wing's third priority increases the development and empowering of Airmen as leaders. "Our future leaders deserve the tools required to become better supervisors and leaders," Col. Breazeale said. "Our vector is for our supervisors to not only look for ways to get their Airmen to developmental schools or programs, but also to take an active role in mentoring them. Our incredible Airmen are capable of making our wing better if we empower them. All 301 FW Airmen are empowered to find ways to do their jobs better and more efficiently." Empowerment plays right into the fourth priority to strengthen a continuous improvement culture. "We made great strides last year transitioning to the new Commander's Inspection Program," Breazeale continued. "The key to this priority is to not fear the 'red' or those areas we are not in compliance. Instead, our culture needs to aggressively identify our failures, identify a plan of action to correct them, and aggressively follow through on fixing our problems." Last month, the wing commander unveiled his 2015 vector check to 1,900 Air Force Reservists during commander's call. During the call, Reservists received information that highlighted the commander's second and third priorities. From the four Air Force wellness pillars - social, spiritual, mental and physical - to the professional military education changes and updates to the childcare program, the call brought the vector check to life. A vector in terms of air combat is a heading provided by command and control to place an aircraft in the correct place at the correct time to accomplish its mission. "Our vector check is a direction to set us up for success as we prepare for the future," said the colonel. And, in each staff meeting since then, he's reminded everyone of this year's priorities ensuring an absolute sense of mission.