LOA chapter named best in Air Force

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mikal Canfield
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
Elmendorf's Northern Lights Chapter of the Logistics Officer Association was recognized as the Air Force Chapter of the Year for 2006-2007.

Competing in the small chapter category, the group accomplished a lot in the past year, going from an inactive chapter to the Air Force's best.

"Our greatest accomplishment over the last year was going from basically a cold start to the Air Force's best chapter of our size," said Lt. Col. Jeffrey King, 3rd Component Maintenance Squadron commander and chapter president. "It speaks volumes about the interest our loggies took in developing their expertise and jointly tackling the big challenges."

As with any organization, becoming the best couldn't have happened without the support of leadership. In this case, getting the chapter going again would have to happen before anything else could be accomplished.

"I wanted to revive the chapter to not only develop our shrinking logistics officer corps, but to provide a forum that would allow us to tackle issues like managing the effects of the TF720 cuts, planning for the Kulis Air National Guard Total Force Integration, and preparing for the 3rd Wing's upcoming Pacific Air Forces Operational Readiness Inspection," said Col. Mike Arceneaux, the 3rd Maintenance Group Commander.

According to the LOA bylaws, the purpose of the Logistics Officer Association, Northern Lights Chapter is "to promote the aims of the Department of Defense mission through dedicated efforts, promoting quality logistical support and maintenance; and to enhance the image and visibility of the professional logisticians within all services."

When Elmendorf's LOA Chapter was inactive, local logistics officers missed important developmental opportunities. According to the award submission, the LOA spent the past year actively on base and in the community. Highlights include chapter gatherings for briefings and mentoring with senior leaders; tours of local logistics operations, such as the local Federal Express hub, Anchorage Seaport and Alaska Railroad; and volunteering more than 900 hours at local charities.

"LOA provides not only a catalyst for professional development, but also gives its members the opportunity to set work aside for a while, build networks across base, and let off some steam ... things we don't often make time to do," said Colonel King.

The chapter boosted its membership from just a handful of aircraft maintenance and logistics readiness officers to more than 50 members. That number isn't made up of just active-duty Air Force logistics officers, but also includes Air Force Reserve, Army, and Navy logisticians.

"Not all LOA chapters have the opportunity to include joint and Total Force logistics officers," said Colonel King. "That's one of the many benefits of the 3rd Wing's new association with the Air Force Reserve, having the Alaska Command and 11th Air Force on base and being co-located with Ft. Richardson. In fact, we see joint logistics opportunities and forums being more frequent and more necessary as we move toward Elmendorf-Fort Richardson joint basing and the Kulis Air National Guard move to Elmendorf."

The Northern Light's chapter also includes another major part of the local logistics community: retirees.

"Many Air Force bases have retired loggies in the local area, but not every LOA chapter reaches out to them. We see a lot of goodness in having retirees involved in our chapter," he added. "'Heritage to Horizons takes on a unique meaning when you have retired logistics officers sharing their insights and experiences, as well as serving as sounding boards for plans and programs."

Ultimately, though, the success that led to the award can be attributed to both the hard work of the members and the support of base leadership in ensuring the organization has the support.

According to Colonel King, "The chapter's executive council set the course and scheduled the events, but it was actually our junior logistics officers who planned and executed them. That was part of our plan to enhance the leadership skills of our individual chapter members and share the additional voluntary workload."

"This award is well-deserved recognition for everyone who made the time to get involved with LOA over the last year, from planning the many events and activities to attending them in an effort to increase their effectiveness as logisticians," Colonel King said.