AFSOC bids farewell to Command Executive Director Published July 26, 2024 Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fl. -- Air Commandos throughout Air Force Special Operations Command bid farewell to Mr. Donald Plater, AFSOC executive director, July 26 here, as he prepares to retire. Plater, a member of the Senior Executive Service, served more than five years with the command and possesses a combined 51 years of federal service. Plater began his career in the U.S. Army upon graduation from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as a Distinguished Military Graduate, and retired as a colonel. He commanded at the battery, battalion, squadron and brigade levels. When he arrived to AFSOC in January of 2019, Plater noted that due to his background he was not overly familiar with the Air Force and AFSOC. “When I came to AFSOC I didn’t appreciate its complexity… it took six to nine months to fully appreciate how we’re organized and how all the pieces come together to form the organization,” he reflected. After settling into his position, Plater shouldered multiple duties including the responsibility for determining the scope, objectives, and resolutions of assignments and resources in AFSOC. He also provided executive guidance and direction for financial planning, strategic investment, capabilities development, programming, Program Objective Memorandum development, and execution of budgetary requirements. Out of his many accomplishments, Plater is most proud of his development of the “Night Court” program, which strategizes service contracts. Night Court gives the command a better idea of where money is being spent and confirmation that existing contracts are utilized for the intended purpose. Under “Night Court,” Plater led a four-month review of 213 contracts valued at $3.6B across the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) to revise or rescind service contracts. This tactic identified $364M worth of savings, which exceeded the goal of $100M across the FYDP in fiscal year 2024 alone. Plater also coordinated the funding required to resource the commander’s directive of flying 115% of the Flying Hour Program. This expanded high-end training across the FYDP that led to increased readiness for competition with adversaries which ultimately became a model for other components to utilize. “Remember that every person in this command everyday makes history, they may not realize it… but recognize that what they did made a difference,” said Plater. In addition, he led the AFSOC Military Construction Projects efforts that resulted in United States Special Operations Command and the Air Force funding 33 projects across 10 years supporting 11 different locations across the globe. These projects will enhance not only maintenance readiness, but quality of life and quality of mission requirements. Plater also reflected on the changes he observed in AFSOC over the past five years. He emphasized the importance of not reinventing the wheel but instead improving upon the foundations laid by previous leaders. He conveyed the significance of consistently pushing to improve processes and not stagnate. “If you don’t continue to learn then you’re not effective… always remember that I’m only as good as I was yesterday,” said Mr. Plater. “What am I doing today to be better for tomorrow?” These projects, along with countless others, will continue as Mr. Plater passes his position to his successor. Safe journey Sir, congratulations on your well-earned retirement!