Strategic Planning in the Military

1. From whom did you gather the information for the paper?
Information for this paper was obtained from Col. Cheatham: he provided the 501 CSW Strategic Planning Final Draft Results and slides. Col. Cheatham is the Vice Wing Commander of the 501st Combat Support Wing (CSW) and is tasked with supplying world-class combat support from eight different installations. Col Cheatham obtained his commission in 1996 from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado and has held several command and staff positions at the base, major command, Air Staff and Joint Staff levels.  He has commanded squadrons both in-garrison and in a deployed environment.  His deployments include Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM, where he served in combat convoy operations with the 732d Expeditionary Mission Support Group, the combat airmen (501st Combat Support Wing Leadership, 2017).
2. Briefly describe the company and what it does. Who are its customers and markets (in general terms)?
The 501st CSW, RAF Alconburry, employs more than 2,000 Airmen at seven different locations in the UK and Norway. Each station assists in the Pathfinder mission of providing support to US and NATO forces. The 501st offers command and control assistance; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assistance; and global strike operations (“501st Combat Support Wing Pathfinders,” n.d.). The customers of the 501st include the US military and NATO armed forces. The 501st currently provides service to over 14,000 military personnel across seven military installations in the UK and Norway. It partners with NATO Joint Warfare Centre; U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command and NATO intelligence analysis units, and Air Force Global Strike Command. All told, the 501st CSW provides support services to more than 60 various U.S. military and government agencies in the UK and Norway (“501st Combat Support Wing Pathfinders,” n.d.).
3. What is the current strategic planning process in the company (preferably your current company)?
The strategic planning process in the company is to utilize team formation to develop better strategic decisions, combining unique perspectives from individuals into groups so that all stakeholders will understand decisions, commit to decisions, and be aware of the critical elements of strategy implementation (“Team Strategy Formulation Note,” n.d.).
The strategic planning process focuses on managing resources, leading teams, improving the overall unit, and executing the mission. Subject matter experts develop action plans, which communicate the objectives for specific and measurable targets in goal-oriented tasks to Squadron CC and Staff Functionals. These objectives fall under the purview of Strategic Goals, which are defined as long-term desired set of end results affecting a large portion of the organization and are overseen by Group CC and WSA/DS. The Strategic Goals support the LOEs, which are a series of goals logically linked to drive efforts toward implementing operational and strategic conditions (501 CSW Strategic Planning, 2017).
4. What types of strategic issues are typically discussed, and what types of decisions are made?
Strategic issues that are typically discussed include: 1) obtaining funding and budgeting, 2) developing and maintaining organizational agility and flexibility, 3) cultivating an effective workplace culture that promotes principles, spirit of mission, and sense of purpose, 4) developing and engaging innovative solutions, 5) integrating team members into networks to support the overall infrastructure of the organization, and 6) engaging in community outreach (501 CSW Strategic Planning, 2017) in order to promote the brand, practice positive corporate social responsibility—which helps to moderate financial management issues (Tang, Hull & Rothenberg, 2012), and demonstrate good will to the communities in which the 501st operates.
5. Who is involved in the strategic planning process (title, not names), and what is their role in the planning process?
Involved in the strategic planning process are (“501 CSW Strategic Planning,” 2017):
· Sq Commanders and their Deputies
· CS – Communications Squadron
· ABS – Personalists and other support agencies
· CE – Civil Engineers
· SFS – Security Forces Squadron (Law Enforcement)
· Muns – Munitions Squadron
· Legal
The role of these strategic planner is to facilitate the decision-making process, strategy implementation, and professional development (Team Strategy Formulation Note, n.d.). Regarding professional development, senior executive officers (Sq Commanders) observe the performance of junior officers on the teams and provide feedback.
6. What is the company’s current strategy? How would it be described to the public or investors?
The company’s current strategy consists of providing intelligence, operational, and command support to US and NATO military agencies. It is described to the public or to investors in exactly that way (“501st Combat Support Wing Pathfinders,” n.d.). For USAFE/CC priorities, the 501st focuses on developing trust, teamwork and training for stakeholders, while the mission focus currently is on maintaining surveillance of Russian activities, maintaining highl-level readiness, and monitoring radicals (“501 CSW Strategic Planning,” 2017).
7. Does the company have a vision, mission, or values statement? If so, what is it?
The mission of the company is to “provide world class combat support to enable communications, intelligence, and global strike operations in support of US and NATO objectives worldwide” as well as to “lead, plan, execute EIC/Intel Consolidation” (“501 CSW Mission,” n.d.). Its vision is to “continue to advance our culture of innovation while pioneering global combat support as USAF’s only Combat Support Wing” (“501 CSW Mission,” n.d.).
8. How is the strategy communicated to others in the organization?
The strategy is communicated to others in the organization through off-site training at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom (“501 CSW Strategic Planning,” 2017).
9. How effective has the company been in implementing the strategy?
The company has been highly effective. In terms of meeting its Russia objective, Russia has slowed its aggressive actions toward NATO allies. In terms of its Readiness objective, the company is at an all-time high in terms of funding and development, thanks especially to a new $700 billion Department of Defense bill just recently authorized. In terms of its Radicals objective, the company has played a strategic role in reducing the capacity of ISIS to operate in the Middle East.
10. Please provide a brief critique of the company’s strategic planning process. What are they doing right? What would you recommend that they change?
The company’s strategic process is suitable to its role in the industry: it provides support to a network of military agencies throughout the world and as such it has to maintain integrity, internal cohesion, unity in terms of vision and mission, principled culture, and a high-level of communication. Its strategic planning process is founded from the ground up on the concept of coordinating the various levels of activity from strategic objectives to action plans under the encompassing and guiding vision of the entire organization. The company integrates the vision throughout the planning process, linking strategic objectives to action plans, performance and measurement, and communicating responses to stakeholders. I would not recommend any change at this time as the company is doing extremely well for itself, as evidenced by the enormous budget allocated to defense spending with funds earmarked for the 501st. The company’s image and brand are stellar and positively portrayed among the public.
11. What role should a mid-level supervisor want to play in developing the company’s strategic plan?
A mid-level supervisor would be responsible for overseeing the execution of the action plan, measuring outcomes, assessing progressing and implementing solutions to drive successful completion of an action plan. This would be achieved while ensuring that the process is in line with the strategic objectives and vision of the company’s guidance which is received from a higher level of command. The mid-level supervisor may have a role in communicating ideas during team member members with regard to strategic planning development, but the main priority of the mid-level supervisor would be in overseeing the implementation of the plan once it is developed.
12. How do you think you could help your company in implementing its strategy?
I could help my company in implementing its strategy by coordinating with my co-workers and team members, communicating with my supervisor, and upholding the values, principles, ethics and ideals of the company through adherence to its vision and mission statements.
I could further facilitate the implementation of the 501st’s strategy by demonstrating a solid, professional attitude and face in public, always generating positive discourse among stakeholders, and assisting in the successful execution of action plans as they are assigned to my group.
By fulfilling the role assigned to me within the company and not deviating from the internal expectations that accompany that role, I am doing my part in implementing the strategy of the 501 CSW. Role players are expected to know their roles and be able to conduct themselves in all operational capacities accordingly. Role players are dependent upon one another for the success of the mission, and if any one role player fails to perform his or her function, the mission’s stability, efficiency, and efficacy are threatened. Therefore, being attentive to the demands of the job assigned to you and applying oneself to those demands is an integral part to the entire success of the company. Not job is too small or too unimportant that it can be ignored or done poorly.
Reference
501 CSW Mission. (n.d.). Photo file.
501 CSW Strategic Planning. (2017). 501 Combat Support Wing 2017-2018 Strategic
Planning Off-Site. PowerPoint Presentation.
501st Combat Support Wing Leadership. (2017). Colonel Ronald E. Cheatham.
Retrieved from http://www.501csw.usafe.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Article/738164/colonel-ronald-e-cheatham/
“501st Combat Support Wing Pathfinders.” (n.d.). 3-Fold Leaflet.
 Tang, Z., Hull, C.E. and Rothenberg, S. (2012). How corporate social responsibility
engagement strategy moderates the CSR–financial performance relationship. Journal of Management Studies, 49(7), 1274-1303.
Team Strategy Formulation Note. (n.d.). File.