New 6th Force Support Squadron coming to MacDill

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Charles Henderlite
  • 6th Mission Support Squadron
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  History will be made Nov. 14 when the 6th Mission Support Squadron and the 6th Services Squadron will combine, merging into one squadron which will be redesignated as the 6th Force Support Squadron. The merger streamlines 12 flights into five and will consist of nearly 800 enlisted, officers, civilians and contractors. This integration is in line with Congress' Program Budget Decision No. 720, or PBD 720, which granted the Air Force authority to reduce manpower authorizations to save money. 

"The goal is for service to the customer to be seamless through this merger, and fortunately we have enough lead time to ensure that all of the FSS team members understand their new role and are able to provide premium service on day one," said Col. William Francis, 6th Mission Support Group commander. 

Customers will notice little change with day-to-day activities other than the name. The changes will be more evident among the officers and civilian employees. 

"We have all seen manning cuts in the past but with PBD 720, the FSS merger will allow Services and Mission Support professionals to combine like operations and streamline management positions to become more efficient," said Lt. Col. Kendell Peters, 6th Services Squadron commander. "The FSS merger will give us an opportunity to synergize our efforts and actually provide the same level service without over working the remaining members of the unit." 

The merger comes eight months earlier than expected due to the departure of Colonel Peters to become the MSG Deputy. The FSS planning committee, led by Capt. Tammy Foster, has been hard at work since November 2007 and was fully prepared to implement on the accelerated schedule. 

The 6th FSS will affect more than 250 thousand active duty, reserve, retirees and their family members. The merger will allow the FSS to benefit from consolidation of additional duties and other common areas such as resource management, information technology, training and readiness. 

The new squadron will be led by current 6th MSS commander, Maj. Jeff Krusinski. For a seamless transition, Major Krusinski has extended his tour through July 2010. 

"I'm excited about our new mission as a Force Support Squadron," said Major Krusinski. "Key functions at home station and at deployed locations will run much smoother, benefiting from the team work of comrades within a single squadron and single functional community." 

Only officers, civilian flight chiefs and squadron leadership at the superintendent level and above will 'combine.' This means Personnel/Manpower and Services officers will be able to cross-flow and assume each other's tasking. The enlisted specialties will remain distinct. 

The Air Force has created new unit type codes that combine Services and Mission Support personnel in deployment packages. By doing this, it allows them to work and train together in the same squadron, which facilitates the teamwork necessary to deploy together.