I

 remember vividly the first time I caught a glimpse of travel

reengineering. The occasion was the January 1995 Air Combat

Command (ACC) Comptrollers Conference at Langley AFB, Virginia. Travel reengineering was a pipe dream. Yet, considering the

Air Force was in the throes of downsizing, a concept that promised

work reduction and process simplification captivated my interest.

A great deal of change was about to take place in the name of travel

reengineering.

This article condenses some of the key events associated with one

chapter of travel reengineering, the chapter written by the travel

reengineering teams at Langley AFB, Virginia and the 11th Wing,

Bolling AFB, Washington D.C. In retrospect, the achievements of

these teams are nothing short of amazing. It is most appropriate to

recapture the highlights and duly recognize those involved.

Let’s begin by putting things into perspective. In FY94 ACC had

228 personnel dedicated solely to performing travel work. As a group

they processed over 510,000 annual travel documents. ACC was, in

fact, processing this many documents even after fully implementing

the Government Travel Card Program which had eliminated nearly

80,000 annual travel advances. Travel generated an enormous work

load. It involved as many as 17 steps to prepare and pay travel authorizations. It was also complicated, cumbersome, and manual.

When ACC learned the 11th Wing and the Pentagon were experimenting with a prototype automated travel system, it asked to participate. ACC’s rationale was to ensure the result could be implemented Air Force-wide. The 11th Wing, which had already gained

notoriety for receiving Vice President Gore’s Golden Hammer

Award for the initial concept, eagerly welcomed the company. They

were already working to merge existing government travel software

with a commercial off-the-shelf software package. Their goal was to

create an automated program that could handle the full spectrum of

DoD travel and link travel accounting data to the general Air Force

accounting system. This automated program, combined with a General Accounting Office sanctioned electronic signature, became the

basis for the Federal Automated System for Travel, or FAST.

The timing of this joint venture was fortuitous for both. The larger

DoD travel reengineering effort was just getting underway, and both

the 11th Wing and Langley AFB were perfect selections as travel reinvention laboratories. The 11th Wing’s customer base represented

over 12,000 potential travelers. Langley, with its operational wing

and a headquarters, had over 10,000. Both sites posed a challenging

test for this new travel system, and by the spring of 1995, FAST was

on the launch pad and ready to take flight.

Just as Thomas Edison did not create the perfect light bulb on the

first attempt, FAST did not get off the ground without some regression. Despite promising pretests, major problems materialized once

implementation began. Of these problems, the one causing greatest

 Advancing DoD Travel

Reengineering Goals

by Lieutenant Colonel Stephen C. Tye

Just as Thomas Edison

did not create the perfect

light bulb on the first

attempt FAST did not get

off the ground without

some regression.
concern was Local Area Network (LAN) server capacity. FAST, which

operates in a LAN environment similar to electronic mail, absorbs a

considerable amount of memory capacity. As more users came on

line, existing servers quickly reached their maximum capacity, making FAST, well, not too fast. The simple solution was to procure

new servers large enough to enable FAST to compete with other LAN

programs.

Another major issue related to training. It was obvious from the

beginning that a comprehensive training program was necessary to

teach travelers how to use FAST. This, too, was a significant effort

that took a great deal of time to develop and maintain. As every

new organization was brought on line in the technical sense, time had

to be carved out for mass briefings and individual hands-on system

training. Feedback became a source for concern as new users began

supplying complaints of system unfriendliness. As a DOS-based system, FAST could be somewhat difficult to use, particularly for initial users. The solution was to establish a customer help-desk or hot

line to provide immediate tutorial information as needed. Eventually this idea expanded to include on-line access to frequently asked

questions, or FAQs, and a published Users Manual.

Even with help-desks and hot-lines, nothing took the place of good

old fashioned salesmanship. People typically resist change anyway,

and the thought of something as radical as a paperless travel system with electronic signatures caused considerable resentment. Travelers could no longer see and touch the travel process. This major

paradigm shift required a real leap of faith. In light of these issues,

FAST needed a strong marketing effort to extol its virtues and advantages.

Lack of technical skills raised yet another issue. When the Langley implementation effort began, very little formal technical training existed among the FAST team members. Even without this technical capability, team members made a great deal of progress with

nothing more than genuine G.I. initiative. However, many organizations had independently developed LAN structures that required

upgrading to be compatible with FAST software. Similarly, preimplementation planning entailed in-depth LAN assessments to help

understand the communication structural needs of each organization. Although base communication experts availed themselves to

this effort, the need to have an organic technical base became obvious. Langley’s solution was to enroll two NCOs in network school

to earn their accreditation as Certified Network Engineers. Once

these skills were acquired, FAST technicians made most of the necessary LAN enhancements themselves saving a great deal of time.

So, after procuring larger servers, establishing a solid training program, initiating a strong publicity effort, and acquiring networking

skills, FAST got on the fast track.

Within a short time lessons-learned folders began to bulge with

information. Meetings between the 11th Wing and Langley were regular occurrences, in addition to daily interface. As the implementation effort progressed, a phenomenal cooperative effort developed.

Team work solved a never-ending list of problems and kept FAST

up and running practically day and night. As a bonus, numerous

software improvements and program enhancements were produced—

significant achievements in their own right.

By late 1996, as FAST implementation at ACC headquarters and

the Pentagon neared completion, both teams prepared for their next

challenges. The 11th Wing completed the Pentagon and set their sights

People typically resist

change anyway, and the

thought of something as

radical as a paperless

travel system with

electronic signatures

caused considerable

resentment.
on base-level units at Bolling AFB. Likewise, Langley looked to the

1st Fighter Wing, but also focused efforts on developing the first

FAST exportation plan.

The Langley vision for FAST had always included, at a minimum,

all of ACC. For exportation to work efficiently, new premises were

in order. An exportation plan was needed for starters to describe

FAST implementation in detail. Langley wanted an off-the-shelf type

of plan capable of guiding the actions of an implementing base. This

plan had to be a complete recipe for success, so to speak. Secondly,

the implementing base must be able to perform the implementation

with local resources. ACC headquarters would provide the engineering and technical support, but an implementing base needed to perform the actual hands-on implementation and training.

Late 1996 to early 1997 was a particularly challenging period as

these new concepts began to take form, and as the headquarters FAST

team began to take on a new look. Within a four-month period, three

NCOs left active duty creating a critical void in FAST engineering

and technical support skills. Fortunately, advance planning compensated for these losses. Temporary overhires to perform the bulk

of administrative work, and contractors to handle the technical

workload would now form the nucleus of the Langley FAST team.

This transition took place gradually allowing support for the existing FAST network to continue without problems and implementation to remain on track.

As the Langley effort now focused on the 1st Wing implementation, a decision was made to transfer the bulk of the implementation

responsibilities into the hands of the 1st Fighter Wing itself. More

specifically, the 1st Comptroller Squadron (CPTS) assumed a leadership role. Several 1 CPTS folks had been key members of the Langley team from the start, and were well versed in the implementation effort. However, up until this time, they had only performed in

a support role. Now they were about to call the shots “on their turf”

while deferring to their headquarters counterparts for technical assistance.

The implementation effort at the 1st Wing, similar to the headquarters implementation, was also ambitious and challenging. Competing wing priorities such as deployments and exercises caused several scheduling delays, but progress remained steady. One of the biggest issues facing the 1st Wing, though, was how far to extend the

implementation process into the bowels of the 1st Wing organizations. Headquarters personnel typically travel more frequently than

their base-level counterparts, so virtually everyone at command level

received user training. In contrast, operational wing personnel typically travel less considering their mission, that is, wrench turners in

Maintenance, stock clerks in Supply, cooks in Services, etc. Many

wing personnel were infrequent travelers so it was of great concern as

to how FAST would work for them. The 1st Wing decided to adjust

the implementation approach accordingly. Training was limited to

travelers most likely to travel, but also capable of expanding later to

include new users as the need became apparent. Likewise, the 1st

Wing established unit trainers in a train-the-trainer fashion to allow

units to add new users later as desired. These approaches worked

well and 1st Wing implementation moved steadily and reached the

final stage in the summer of 1997.

Advancing DoD Travel Reengineering Goals (Continued...)

The Langley vision for

FAST had always included,

at a minimum, all of ACC.
Finally, after three years, the FAST test under DoD travel

reengineering has been declared a complete success. With 10,000 users and 75,000 electronic documents processed by Langley as of this

writing, the pipe dream has become reality. Its success is catching

on with other MAJCOMs, too. Most recently, HQ AETC followed

ACCs lead by initiating FAST implementation at Randolph AFB,

Texas. The FAST test also continues at ACC. This past summer ACC

plotted its next course to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. When SAF/

FM assumed the lead for Air Force Travel Reengineering efforts, it

tasked ACC to see how well and how quickly FAST could be exported. These test results will contribute towards further developments under the DoD Defense Travel System (DTS) concept. Most

particularly, the results will be of value to the Defense Travel Region

(DTR) 6 initiative. DTR 6, a compilation of DoD sites within an 11-

state section of the middle United States, will be the first such region to test and implement a contract-operated automated travel

system under DTS. Exportation will be a major issue for DTS and

FAST is already paving the way by meeting these issues head-on

now.

In conclusion, the FAST story is one of victory and celebration,

not only for the dedicated people at Langley and the 11th Wing, but

also for the larger DoD effort. FAST is an unparalleled success and

its greatest contribution is proving that electronic, paperless travel

works, and works very well. While future travel reengineering efforts may shift to other software designs, FAST clearly earns a notable spot in financial management history as a true pioneer in the

DoD travel reengineering effort.

As a final comment, the financial management community should

express a debt of gratitude to those most responsible for getting FAST

off the ground. These folks set the stage for what now has become

the most successful travel reengineering system in the DoD today.

Members of the original FAST implementation team include:

Mr George Cava, 11WG/FM

Ms Denise Schisel, 11 WG/FMI

Mr Larry Hedrick, 11 WG/FMI

Capt Rod Berk, 11 WG/FMI

Mr Dewey Cole, 11 WG/FMI

Col Robert Adams, HQ ACC/FMF

Lt Col Charles Thomas, HQ ACC/FMFO

SMSgt Robert Sullivan, HQ ACC/FMFOP

SSgt Karlowe Kroon, HQ ACC/FMFOP

SSgt Troy Young, HQ ACC/FMFOP

SSgt Juliana Gibson, 1 CPTS/FMFT

SrA Timothy Rogers, 1 CPTS/FMFT

SrA Terry Welch, 1 CPTS/FMFT

SrA Sean Freeman, 1 CPTS/FMFT

In conclusion, the FAST

story is one of victory and

celebration, not only for the

dedicated people at Langley

and the 11th Wing, but also

for the larger DoD effort.
L

ieutenant Colonel Stephen Tye is Chief, Finance

Operations, HQ ACC, Langley AFB VA. He has a

BS in Business Administration from Wright State

University, and an MBA in Business Management from

Georgia College. Prior assignments include Commander,

5th Comptroller Squadron, Minot AFB ND; Comptroller,

Keflavik NAS, Iceland; Chief Finance Division, HQ

MAC; Chief Accounting and Finance, Cannon AFB NM;

Executive Officer, Support Group Europe, RAF Kemble

UK; Deputy Accounting and Finance Office 2853 ABG,

Robins AFB GA; and Budget Analyst 2750 ABW, WrightPatterson AFB OH. He is a member of the Hampton

Roads Chapter of ASMC.

About the Authors

C

hief Master Sergeant Larry P. Gonzales is the

command enlisted functional manager, Head

quarters, United States Air Forces in Europe

(USAFE), Ramstein Air Base, Germany. He serves as

principal advisor to the USAFE Comptroller on enlisted

and functional policy matters representing over 350

enlisted personnel at 30 locations throughout Europe.

The chief has worked in all areas of the accounting

and finance career field, mostly at base-level offices.

Advancing DoD Travel Reengineering Goals

USAFE TOP DOLLAR ‘97