‘The strength of our wing is in our people’ A year in review with Colonel Lindsay Droz

Over the last year, the workforce at Robins Air Force Base has received a focused path regarding the tasks at hand, and three fundamental priorities — mission readiness, accountability and connectedness — were placed at the forefront.

“We’ve taken steps to empower our leaders and our airmen at all levels by giving them clear guidance and improving their training to ensure that our first-line supervisors are ready for the challenge,” Col. Lindsay Droz said. “I’m really proud that we’ve not just maintained our status quo, but we’ve moved forward despite COVID continuously throwing obstacles in our path — but I also am just really proud of the relationship we’ve built with the community.”

Droz spoke of what she expects in the year to come, explaining that although there are “a lot of moving parts,” she and her personnel have a strong relationship with the mission partners involved in the process.

“By the end of the next year, I really hope that we just continue the path that we’re on and ensuring that the next set of Robins leaders has a strong foundation to march off of,” she added. “We’re also focusing on our innovation and taking efforts to modernize our infrastructure and ensure that we have prioritized the things that we need to do to ensure the continuation of the missions here at Robins.”

She spoke of her three fundamental priorities as a commander at Robins: mission, accountability and connectedness.

“With everything that has happened over the last several years, focusing on the fundamentals gives our workforce a lot to anchor to,” Droz explained. “And I’d like to really focus on that priority of connectedness because — especially during COVID — things have been challenging, and our airmen need resiliency.

“They need to understand what their purpose is, they need to find meaning in their work, they need to find meaning in their on and off-duty relationships — and in their lives. That’s really been a huge priority for me is to make sure that our connectedness is increased.”

She spoke on mission readiness as a fundamental priority around the base, saying that a recent major unit effectiveness inspection resulted with her team passing with flying colors.

She mentioned the embrace of innovation at Robins, specifically citing one mission partner — the 461st Air Control Wing — and some recent innovative additions at the base, including the installation of smart delivery lockers for residents.

But one key focus point Droz stressed was the innovation of thought, citing a quote from Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr.: “We must accelerate change or lose.”

“We need to eliminate processes that don’t make sense and modify processes that leverage advances in information technology — and this is where our uniformed and our civilian airmen are really shining,” Droz said. “If we give people an opportunity and support them, amazing things are going to happen.”

Robins is home to a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Office (DEIA), there to serve as an Air Force Materiel Command priority.

“We recognize that the strength of our wing is in our people and that our people come from all different backgrounds,” Droz said. “And it’s imperative that every single member of our team is empowered, valued, respected and represented — and that’s what our DEIA Office does.

“We have really been leading Air Force Materiel Command in a lot of our efforts, making sure that Robins has a culture of inclusion — that we can leverage our diversity to create a strategic advantage for our nation.”

Accomplishments involving the DEIA Office center around improving communication, addressing unconscious bias in the workforce, implementing barrier analysis working groups and branching out with special events.

Robins has moved forward and made progress on their “Office of the Future” initiative, where telework and hoteling are implemented so infrastructure funding can be better prioritized to handle more pressing issues on base.

Robins, Middle Georgia State University and 21st Century Partnership recently collaborated for a Hackathon event where programmers assembled to rapidly complete a task, and Droz said the team on base performed “exceptionally well.”

Middle Georgia State University and Robins also teamed up for Project Mercury, a problem-solving collaboration. Here soon, Robins and the City of Perry will feature an innovation, improvement and training event in the form of a parks planning process.

“There’s just a lot of opportunities that we’ve got,” Droz added. “I think that working together with our community partners has just been a game-changer.”

Coffee with the Commander is a monthly event that includes of rotation of community leaders to interact with as many people as possible. Droz said they recently recognized a Perry High School student as the Georgia JROTC Cadet of the Year, and she recently broke ground at the future site of Langston Road Primary School.

She has made an appearance on behalf of the base and the Air Force at Macon Bacon and Atlanta United games.

“This is really important because our community is incredibly supportive of the military,” Droz said. “But we want people — especially the younger generations — to see the Air Force is an opportunity and to consider military service.

“And whether that’s military service in a uniform or that’s service as a civilian in the Department of the Air Force, we have great Americans that live [and] work on Robins every day and that live and work in the community — and we just want to make sure that we are a great community partner and that we share our mission with you.”

Embracing change is crucial, Droz said. Some changes in command are coming up soon in the 78th Air Base Wing, Air Logistics Complex, Supply Chain Management Group, Life Cycle Management Center and the 5th Combat Communications Group among other mission partners.

“I know that they have worked incredibly for their units, and they have made a difference,” she said. “But also, like I said, the constant in the Air Force is change — and I know that the Air Force has gotten this next rotation of leaders absolutely right. And we are going to have some amazing leaders coming in that are going to have great energy and that are ready to take their units to the next level.”

The 78th Air Base Wing at Robins contains 2,700 personnel among three groups: a communications directorate, an operations support squadron, a comptroller squadron and 17 wing staff agencies.

“So what we do is we support the 54 different mission partners that are on the installation,” she explained. “So while we’re 2,700 strong, the installation has over 24,000 men and women that come to work here every single day.

“It is an amazing wing. People don’t really understand what happens here in Middle Georgia at Robins Air Force Base, but it is incredibly vital to our Air Force’s and our nation’s national security.”

She said making personal connections with anyone she can throughout her busy days is a personal goal as a commander.

“I recognize that here it’s an opportunity; I’ve got a chance here to chart a strategic course for this incredibly important installation,” Droz said. “But I also recognize that here I’ve got an opportunity to make an absolutely meaningful impact every single day by never passing up an opportunity to engage with one of our fantastic uniformed or civilian airmen. That really gives me strength and purpose to just continue to serve and to try to make a difference.”

Droz then shared some leadership advice from perspective gained during her current role and previous positions, saying that making genuine connections with the people one leads is critical and can empower others when done right.

“Just take every opportunity for what it is,” she said. “Don’t wish your days away.”

Droz hails from a small town, only applying to two schools before she left — one of which was the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. She ended up being accepted there, going on to graduate with a degree in behavioral sciences.

“I believe that everything happens for a reason, and there was a reason that I had that opportunity because it was exactly what I needed — [it] helped me as a person and grow,” Droz said. “I was disqualified from flight training my senior year, had to pick another career field and I just know I wanted to work with airplanes and I picked maintenance, pretty much blindly.”

She said she appreciated working with fellow airmen as a maintenance officer, receiving opportunities to serve and lead here locally, nationwide and overseas.

“Every opportunity that I’ve gotten has given me something that helped me grow as a person and a leader,” Droz said. “Whether it’s a success here, an opportunity there — and sometimes it’s even a setback that gives me a new perspective.”

She said she is always striving for connectedness among her loved ones and Air Force family.

“When I talk about connectedness, I’m talking about our airmen,” Droz said. “But I think we all need to look at that personal connectedness and make sure that just because we’re taking care of everybody else doesn’t mean that you need to lose sight that we’re all human beings.”

In closing, Droz reminisced on her first year in her current role.

“I’m giving it everything I’ve got for my mission, for my airmen, for my family — and I know that everything happens for a reason,” the commander said. “Whatever the Air Force desires is next for me, I’m going to embrace that opportunity and that challenge.”

Droz’s husband is a retired lieutenant colonel who currently serves as a program manager. Together, they have a 13-year-old daughter and twin 10-year-olds.

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