BY ORDER OF THE AIR FORCE POLICY DIRECTIVE 38-1
SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE 1 JUNE 1996

Manpower and Organization

ORGANIZATION

NOTICE: This publication is available digitally. Contact your Publishing Distribution Office (PDO) for the monthly CD-ROM or access to the bulletin board system. The target date for discontinuing paper publications is December, 1996.

SUMMARY OF REVISIONS

This revision updates the office of primary responsibility for organizational policy. A « denotes a revision from previous edition.

1. The Air Force must be organized to best use available resources. This requires simple, streamlined structures designed for seamless transition from peace to war.

2. The principal characteristics desired in Air Force organizations are:
2.1. Mission Orientation. Organizations should have a reason to exist and should be designed to achieve the outcome defined in the applicable mission directive.
2.2. Unambiguous Command. Organizational structure should provide a clear chain-of-command running from the President to the most junior airman.
2.3. Decentralization. Organizations should be designed so lower echelons can achieve objectives without needing continuous control from above.
2.4. Agility. Organizations should be structured so personnel can recognize problems, find solutions, make decisions, and implement them quickly.
2.5. Flexibility. Organizations should be capable of adapting rapidly to changing external circumstances.
2.6. Simplicity. Organizational structure should be as plain and straightforward as possible because complexity often inhibits rather than facilitates organizational effectiveness.
2.7. Standardization. Organizations with like responsibilities should have similar organizational structures.

3. The following responsibilities and authorities are established:
3.1. The Secretary of the Air Force is responsible for organizing the Air Force. Air Staff, under the direction of the Chief of Staff, discharges this responsibility.

3.2. The Director of Programs and Evaluation, HQ USAF/PE, exercises control over the configuration of all organizational structures from major command (MAJCOM) headquarters down to flights at base level.

3.3. The Chief, Manpower and Organization for MAJCOMs and other field commands will implement HQ USAF policies.

4. AFI 38-101, Air Force Organization, contains procedural guidance for organizational action.

5. This directive implements statutory requirements in Title 10, United States Code, Section 8013.

6. See attachment 1 for measures of effectiveness.

JOHN W. HANDY, Maj General, USAF

Director of Programs and Evaluation

1 Attachment
Measuring and Displaying Compliance With Policy
MEASURING AND DISPLAYING COMPLIANCE WITH POLICY

A.1.1. Air Force organizational policy will be assessed by measuring compliance with the standard organization structures in AFI 38-101. The measurement chart (figure A1.1) will depict the number of variations throughout the Air Force. A variation is an organizational structure that differs from the standard for like organizations as found in AFI 38-101 and that is approved by HQ USAF.

Figure A1.1. Sample Metric of USAF Organization Variations.