LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Former Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert H. Barrow once said, "Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics."
Further, Sun Tzu said, "The line between disorder and order lies in logistics."
Long before the Air Force was established as a separate service, the logisticians' benefit to the war-fighter was well known.
To honor such logistics contributions over the years, the Air Combat Command director of logistics recently dedicated a conference room to logistics heritage through the ages.
Major General Mark Atkinson, ACC director of logistics, cut a ribbon signifying the grand opening of the ACC Logistics Heritage Room here on August 10, 2012. This project began in January 2011 when the logistics directorate took over a recently renovated office building on the ACC headquarters campus.
The walls of the renovated structure were a blank slate and the directorate determined to display photos of ACC logisticians at work in their various career fields. Through the hard work of Peggy Barr, ACC logistics and project facility manager, pictures were taken, developed and printed. Now the walls of the logistics directorate reflect the hard work of logisticians and their contributions to the Air Force mission.
To further enhance the appearance of the building, and to honor the legacy of logisticians from 1947 to the present day, ACC logisticians decided to dedicate a conference room to the theme of "Logistics Through the Ages."
Capt. Lyndel Miller, ACC transportation functional manager, was appointed as the project manager and solicited assistance from a number of local agencies, including the ACC graphics shop, public affairs and the historian's office.
"I personally thank all members of the project design team for seeing this endeavor through to completion. You all have done a phenomenal job in putting together this masterpiece that will be a part of our ACC culture for years to come," Miller said.
The committee initially developed six different themes and two design layouts, ultimately deciding on the theme of "Logistics Through the Ages." Each wall is uniquely designed to reflect five different eras of American air power. These eras are 1946-1960, 1961-1975, 1976-1990, 1991-2005 and 2006-2012, each depicting highlights of Tactical Air Command and ACC logistics. The committee members researched hundreds of articles and photos capturing the general operational tempo and significant logistics events of each era.
"Logistics is embedded into virtually every Air Force function - the hard part of this project was picking just this few photos and stories to represent such a broad presence," said ACC Historian James Frank.
The committee not only wanted to create a unique conference room decor, but produce an atmosphere similar to that one might find in a small museum, with quality two-dimensional displays. This was accomplished by the talented efforts of Rodney Adams in the ACC graphics office.
Just outside Heritage Room, in the main hallway, hangs a plaque displaying 27 engraved photos of officers that held the position of TAC or ACC director of logistics. It spans from 1950 to the present day, ranging from Col. Ira D. Snyder to Gen. Atkinson.
The final touch to the project is the gathering of logistics artifacts from each era that will be displayed in a glass case. Artifacts are being solicited from past logistics directors and will be put on public display in the Heritage Room.
"I have been in this building since 1999 and have never seen anything as phenomenal as the Heritage Room," Barr said. "I am just so proud to have been a part of the team to make it happen. It has been an amazing experience."
The Heritage Room will still be utilized for daily meetings, but also used as a showpiece conference room for newcomers to HQ ACC Logistics.
The Air Force logistics community consists of several distinct specialties; logistics plans, transportation, supply, aircraft and munitions maintenance, schedulers and analysts. Logistics involves the movement of people and equipment, daily deliveries of supplies and maintenance of aircraft, munitions, vehicles, spare parts and equipment. In our Air Force today, there are more than 150,000 people who proudly call themselves "loggies."
"I am very proud of the logisticians who led this effort. It represents not just the hard work they poured into this project, but also represents the hard work of all logisticians across the Air Force." Atkinson said. "The pictures, the murals, the artifacts are inspirational and will serve as a reminder to all of us just how big a role logistics plays in our operational success."