KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 403rd Wing is always looking for innovative ideas and feedback.
To make it easier for Reserve Citizen Airmen, the Wing of Choice has added some new features to its mobile application in U.S. Air Force Connect, the official app of the U.S. Air Force.
The wing has been part of Air Force Connect since March 2019. The Air Force-wide mobile app centralizes and increases access to information Airmen need for their careers.
Some of the wing’s units use the app to share information and schedules with their Reserve Citizen Airmen, but the newest feature of the app includes an option for reservists to share ideas with leadership.
“If there is something you would like to change or you have an idea that would make your job better or more efficient we want to hear from you,” said Stacey Huffman, 403rd Wing Process Improvement manager. “Ideas can range from cultural to environmental … anything that will improve your workplace. Make your concerns known. You don’t have to have the solution, but put your idea out there so then we can get the right people in the room to get the discussion started.”
Col. Stuart M. Rubio, 403rd Wing commander, stresses the importance of Airmen’s voices and how important they are to mission accomplishment.
“As I said when I took command, ‘every time you hear ‘Wing of Choice,’ think ‘I have a Voice,’” he said. “You have a voice if you have an idea of how our Wing could be doing something more efficiently or effectively or how we can accelerate change. And you have a voice if you can think of a way we can better equip our Airmen to accomplish our many diverse missions. There is no limit in what this Wing can achieve with the many diverse inputs and perspectives of every Airman.”
Other information available to reservists via the app includes 403rd Wing general information, contacts, readiness checklists, Air Force guides, mentoring resources, fitness information, news and social media streams, wing events, and unit schedules.
In addition to this, Airmen can also access up to 10 organization pages such as the Keesler AFB, Air Force, and Air Force Reserve Command pages. One recent addition to the AFRC subpage of the app is the Developing Resilient Leaders, or DRL, content.
The DRL Digital Age Learning Content Wall of the Air Force Reserve Command’s AF Connect page was designed to be an easy-to-access and user-friendly hub for DRL-related information, documents and links. The content will provide resiliency material for AFRC’s 74,000 Airmen, with new content added on a scheduled basis for commanders to use and present as needed. Its content is broken down into four categories: Digital Force Protection, Unclassified Intelligence, Lead Yourself First and Leadership Development. This will provide Airmen with the resources to develop all facets of leadership and resiliency both professionally and personally.
Wing personnel can download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play and add the 403rd Wing by opening the favorites tab in the lower right-hand corner, searching for the 403rd Wing or organization of their choice, clicking the add button, exiting out of the favorites and swiping left from the USAF Connect home screen. To provide feedback to the 403rd Wing, select the button at the bottom of the page and follow the prompts. When on the AFRC page, click on the DRL button to access that content.
(Jessica Dupree, AFRC Public Affairs, contributed to this article)