Yonkers suggests saving without sacrifice

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Chase Hedrick
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Terry Yonkers, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics, visited Columbus Air Force Base Nov. 14 to get a better understanding of Columbus AFB and share his thoughts on ways for Air Force installations to innovate and save resources, taxpayer dollars and possibly jobs.

"We are looking for good ideas in our Air Force to be able to afford our Air Force so that we don't have to sacrifice manpower and force structure... If we can reduce our overhead; turning out lights, being careful about the way we use water, looking at some of these technologies that can leverage dollars for us, that means that we don't have to give Airmen pink slips, in the contractor sense, in the civilian sense, in the military sense. And that we don't have to take 300 airplanes out of the inventory to make ends meet like we did in the FY13 budget."

Yonkers said the cuts to manpower and Air Force inventory was driven by the Budget Control Act of 2011 reducing the Air Force total obligation authority from $120 billion to $110 billion. He compared the cut to a 10 percent pay reduction, while still trying to make ends meet.

To help prevent the same impact from future budget cuts the Air Force is working to reduce the amount of resources, including energy said Yonkers. At the October Air Force Association breakfast the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Dr. Kevin Geiss, noted that in Fiscal Year 2011, the Air Force spent $9.7 billion on energy. To reduce energy expenditures and avoid cuts, programs such as military housing Utility Allowance are being put in place to help create a culture of saving resources said Yonkers.

"We're trying to make sure that Airmen are conscious about taking personal responsibility about natural resources like energy. One way to bring that to consciousness is to hand out mock bills in military family housing," said Yonkers. "If you don't know that you're spending $500 a month for electricity because the government is paying for that, why are you going to be sensitive to whether or not you turn the lights off or take a two hour shower in the morning?"

Columbus AFB has completed the Utility Allowance mock billing, moving into the next stage with real utility bills to financially reward energy conscious Airmen and encourage them to bring those habits to the workplace.

"If you're one of those Airmen or one of those families that does turn off the lights and you spend $20 on electricity every month, you get to keep all the rest," said Yonkers. "That's what we're trying to get to is that behavioral change, and one way to do it is to make you responsible for managing the resources that you can manage in your household, let alone when you get to work."

As Airmen become energy savvy at home, Airmen at work are searching for other ways to save money. Part of the $9.7 billion the Air Force spent on energy in FY11 included 2.5 billion gallons of aviation fuel. Yonkers said that the search for alternatives to traditional fossil fuels have been successful, including a field-tested biofuel.

"What we're talking about uses cellulose. Basically anything that's plant material that has cells in it you can convert into jet fuel," said Yonkers. "Right now we're burning 50 percent conventional fossil fuel, and we're utilizing these alternative fuels in a 50/50 mix. We're flying the Thunderbirds on it, we're flying A-10's on it, we're flying C-17's on it, we're flying C-130's on it and we're refueling with it."

The Air Force is also seeking out public-private and public-public partnerships to decrease sections of Air Force infrastructure and partner with municipal service providers.

"Cities operate the same way as an air base does so why not combine forces to the extent that it makes sense and doesn't detract from readiness and doesn't detract from the mission set to find a way that saves them money and saves us money," he said.

Communities provide more than opportunities for services said Yonkers, who said he believes local citizens, civic leaders, and elected officials who support Airmen are a central part of the Air Force, and great Americans.

"The outpouring of support from the communities makes a huge difference. Whether it's helping us secure clear zones or complete land trades so we can consolidate functions to make our air bases a bit more efficient and get at that overhead," said Yonkers. "It's the honorary commanders, it's the local citizens, the civic leaders, congressional delegations, governors, you name it, they all come together and they rally around our air bases and they provide unbelievable support to our Airmen and our wing commanders to help us get the job done."

When asked about his impression of Columbus AFB Yonkers said he was impressed by the base's plan for consolidating functions and facilities, the amount of activity on the base's runway and the mission.

"This is one of the pivotal points in the United States Air Force where we train pilots to go to the war, so that was an eye opening experience," said Yonkers. "I wasn't quite sure what I was going to see when I got here, but every time I get out of the Pentagon, I learn by putting eyes on."