Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      a man talks to a groupLt. Col. Frank Cumbie, 908th Program Integration Office active duty Air Education and Training Command liaison, addresses his concerns to the attendees of the weekly Program Integration Office planning meeting at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., May 19, 2022. The PIO is one of the organizations responsible for the 908th Airlift Wing’s transition from the C-130H Hercules to the MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter. Their weekly team meetings brought together members from AETC, Air Force Reserve Command and the 22nd Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Austin Jackson)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        a man talks to a groupLt. Col. Jay Ference, 908th PIO deputy director, listens to the meeting participants via phone in the weekly PIO planning meeting at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., May 19, 2022. The PIO is one of the organizations responsible for the 908th Airlift Wing’s transition from the C-130H Hercules to the MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter. Their weekly team meetings brought together members from Air Education and Training Command, Air Force Reserve Command and the 22nd Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Austin Jackson)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        a man talks to a groupChief Master Sgt. Quincey Hester, Anthony Taylor and Senior Airmen Bryce Mayer, members of the 908th Program Integration Office, provide an update to the attendees of the weekly PIO planning meeting at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., May 19, 2022. The PIO is one of the organizations responsible for the 908th Airlift Wing’s transition from the C-130H Hercules to the MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter. Their weekly team meetings brought together members from Air Education and Training Command, Air Force Reserve Command and the 22nd Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Austin Jackson)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Introducing the 908th Airlift Wing’s Program Integration OfficePublished July 21, 2022
                    
                    By Senior Airman Austin Jackson
                    
                    
                    908th Airlift Wing
            **MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) --**The 908th Airlift Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, said goodbye to its aging **C-130HHercules**aircraft April 8, 2022, as it begins the transition to providing MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter training; bringing together **Air Education and Training Command**,**Air Force Global Strike Command**and**Air Force Reserve Command**for the first time.

To accomplish this task, Col. Craig Drescher, 908 AW commander, created a Program Integration Office to facilitate the details of the transition.

Anthony Taylor, a former Air Force helicopter pilot, serves as the director of the PIO team.

"The PIO has been in existence for over a year," said Taylor. "We are responsible for working with other leaders to ensure the 908 AW safely and efficiently converts from a tactical C-130 mission to the Air Force'sformal training unit for the MH-139A helicopter."

According to Senior Master Sgt. Adam Childers, a flight engineer with the 357th Airlift Squadron, the PIO are the “boots on the ground” for the potential remission.02:06
    
    

    
    
    VIDEO  | 02:06
            |
            Introducing the 908th Airlift Wing’s Program Integration Office





"We are more of a touch point that can get answers to questions and provide information to help guide and potentially influence the decision makers in this process,” he said.

What started as a two-person team more than a year agohas since grown into a group of AETC and 908th AW members working together on everything from maintenance and finance to facilities and courseware.

A mission change of this scale means that the 908th AW will be transitioning from its long heritage of operating a fixed-wing airframe to a rotary-wing aircraft.

"Here's the 30,000-foot view," said Master Sgt. Joel May, PIO maintenance integration lead. "We are getting rid of widget A, the C-130H, and replacing it with widget B, the MH-139A helicopter and all the logistics involved, be it facilities or finances."

According to the PIO, this will require many changes within the wing.

"It's not necessarily going to be an easy transition and it is not going to happen overnight," said Taylor. "It's a completely different type of airframe, a different type of flying and maintenance."

Though the change will not be simple, the PIO wants the 908th AW members, and the Air Force as a whole, to know that the wing is more than capable of handling the task.

"This is probably going to be the hardest transition in the history of the Air Force," said May. "I have no doubt that we're up to the challenge. We have maintainers, for instance, that have an average of 10- to 12-years of experience, we have very decorated and accomplished maintainers."

Lt. Col. JayFerence, the PIO deputy director, hopes that 908th AW members will embrace the future and enjoy the present, using the time of transition for personal and professional development.

"From a commander's point of view, I'm taking this opportunity to develop myAirmen," Ference said. "If they want to start school, finish some career development courses, or go to the **Community College of the Air Force**, this is the time to do it."

As questions arise throughout this process, the PIO wants members of the 908th AW to be encouraged to ask them.

"It's okay to talk to us," said Childers. "We might be there to ask questions, but anyone can ask us questions. We are always going to be honest and tell you what we know. We might not know the exact answer to your question because that decision might not have been made yet, but we will tell you what we know."

Taylor wants the 908thAW to be enthusiastic about the future, and according to him, by everyone in the wing operating at their best, they are contributing to the transition.

"The rotary-wing mission is tremendously exciting," said Taylor. "I hope that our members can do some research on the helicopters and help us build on that excitement and spread it throughout the 908th. Every member of the wing is now part of the PIO."LR 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



Maxwell AFB 



Alabama 



908th Airlift Wing 



training 



mission 



Air Education and Training Command 



AETC 



AFGSC 



Air Force Global Strike Command 



AFRC 



Air Force Reserve Command 



C-130H 



MH-139A 



Aircraft 



Program Integration Office 



PIO Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil