LANGLEY AFB, Va. –
The new 1st Mission Support Group commander brought a unique set of experiences and perspectives to the table when he took responsibility of the group during a change of command ceremony Wednesday.
The military term would be assumed command, but responsibility is one of Col. Brian Yolitz’s command messages.
“We must all take responsibility for ourselves; take the initiative to solve problems within our control. We cannot control the issues or changes we face, but we all can choose how we respond to them,” he said. “Probably my biggest pet peeve is when we choose to sit back, point a finger, and look to others to take care of things, or just gripe and complain.”
To Colonel Yolitz, that laundry list of things means lost opportunities and a terrible waste of time and energy.
While commanding the 1st MSG, Colonel Yolitz said he will expect three main things out of his people while they are on duty. The first is a focus on readiness … being ready today.
“That means being ready for the [day-to-day] tasks at hand here at Langley,” he said. “It also means being ready for contingency situations, be it an Air and Space Expeditionary Force rotation, major accident response or natural disaster like a hurricane.”
The second thing he looks for is making things better for tomorrow.
“I want my troops to look for ways to more effectively and efficiently accomplish the mission,” he said. “Challenge the ‘we’ve always done it this way’ crowd.”
He also expects other leaders in his command to take care of themselves and their people.
While off duty, he only has two words, “Be involved.”
“Be involved with your family. Build on your education. Have a hobby. Play sports. Help coach a youth team. Get involved in the community. Volunteer here on base or down town, with your church or with a civic or service organization,” Colonel Yolitz said. “You don’t need to be an expert, just bring your positive attitude. The time is yours; don’t sit around, live life.”
Colonel Yolitz comes to the 1st MSG from a tour on the Joint Staff, Directorate for Logistics, at the Pentagon. His tenure there validated all that he learned over the course of his career.
“Everyone contributes to mission success and it’s all about teamwork,” he said. “No single person or group of people can successfully execute their mission without the support of so many others.”
In examples, he stresses how important teamwork and camaraderie is in the Air Force.
“Our aircrews would not step to their aircraft without knowing there was a full complement of professional maintainers who had painstakingly prepared their jets. Maintainers would not be as effective if they did not have the proper facilities and safe infrastructure to work from. The intelligence folks couldn’t provide the warfigher the critical information needed to make decisions without the ability to securely send and receive loads of data across base or around the world.
“I could go on and on,” he said, “the relationships and interdependencies are endless.”
The importance of those relationships and interdependencies is also endless, because it allows Airmen to confidently deploy while knowing their families are safe and secure here at home.
Now that he has assumed command, Colonel Yolitz is ready for all the challenges facing any mission support group commander, let alone on from one of the Air Force’s flagship bases.
“There has been many a time, when faced with an issue or challenge, people ask, ‘What did Langley do?’ or ‘How do they do it at the 1st Fighter Wing?’” he said. “Sustaining the legacy of excellence is daunting. However, I’m confident the team here is up to the challenge.”