|
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — Calling the experience “very eye
opening,” Airman 1st Class Madison Harrison came away from the
recent three-day Enlisted Leadership Symposium at Camp Dawson, West
Virginia, with a greater understanding and appreciation of the total
Air Force.
|
Air Force Lt. Col. Kevin Basik, Air Force representative to the Secretary of Defense for Military Professionalism, talks about better ways to communicate as a supervisor during the Air National Guard's Enlisted Leadership Symposium, at Camp Dawson, W. Va., Aug. 18, 2015. ELS is designed for enlisted Airmen of all ranks to receive professional development that can be used to better enhance Airmen's careers. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. David Eichaker)
|
“Seeing how the Air Force works as a whole is going to
help me in my career,” she said. “This is the kind of
information I need to share with other members from my unit.
You can lead a leader or you can lead a leader to lead
others.”
A material management specialist with the
Arizona Air National Guard's 161st Air Refueling Wing,
Harrison was one of nearly 400 hand-selected Air National
Guard members to attend. ELS hosted Airmen from all three
enlisted tiers from the 89 wings, representing the 50
states, three territories and the District of Columbia. The
symposium included direct interface with top ANG and the Air
Force senior enlisted leaders.
One piece of important
information is the Air National Guard Command Chief's Aim
Points.
“We need to understand what the profession of
arms is and how to apply the profession of arms to what we
do every single day,” said Chief Master Sgt. James W.
Hotaling, command chief master sergeant of the Air National
Guard. “We need to be very mindful of being a resilient
Airman, which includes physical, mental, social and
spiritual. We have to understand that our Airmen are human
beings first, and we need to recognize and embrace our
accomplishments.”
Understanding how to communicate
with Airmen is one way to be a successful leader, noted Air
Force Lt. Col. Kevin Basik, Air Force representative to the
Secretary of Defense for Military Professionalism.
“It's the Airmen who accomplish the mission,” Basik said.
"There's a psychology associated with inspiring, engaging
and elevating Airmen. This is an opportunity for us to focus
on what connects with people, what moves people to action,
and what helps leaders accomplish the mission through their
people."
A key highlight for all attendees was being
able to hear directly from the most senior enlisted official
within the Air Force as he spoke about topics that can
affect Airmen, to include the total force concept and
professional development.
“There is only one United
States Air Force and it's important that everybody
understands that,” said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force
James A. Cody. “When I say Air Force ... that's every
component—active, Guard, Reserve and civilian.”
Hotaling said it is important for all four components to
work together.
“The one Air Force concept is pretty
simple,” he observed. “To be a United States Air Force, it
takes four strong components, whether it's the active
component, the Air Force Reserve, or the Air National Guard,
or our civilian Airmen. Any one component can't be an Air
Force without the other three.”
Even though there are
three uniformed Air Force components, the standards for
professional development training and other opportunities
are the same, Cody added.
“We have to understand that
the end-state is that everybody gets the same professional
development education,” said Cody. “Everybody has to have
the same opportunity to develop. Whatever that developmental
opportunity is, every Airman in the Air Force, regardless of
the component, has to have access to this ability to
develop.”
A list of discussion topics included
financial responsibility, the Profession of Arms Center of
Excellence's Human Capital course and Enlisted Performance
Reviews. Access to the ANG's senior leaders also made the
ELS a valuable experience.
“Be the best Airman that
you can be today,” Hotaling said. “If you're a staff
sergeant, I want you to be the very best staff sergeant in
the Air National Guard. If you concentrate on the here and
now, your future will be very bright.”
By U.S. Air National Guard Master Sgt. David Eichaker
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
Comment on this article |
