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Born in Poland, the young boy immigrated to the United States at
the age of 10. Although he was far ahead of the math curriculum at
his school, neither he nor his brother spoke English, until a
librarian, Ms. Rousch, offered to help.
“Within six months I
was speaking English fluently,” said Master Sgt. Bartek Bachleda,
22nd Air Refueling Wing Plans and Programs superintendent. “God, I
hated that woman at first. She made me work, and I didn’t want to. I
was a kid; I just wanted to go back to class, do easy math and draw
all day.”
But when Bachleda joined the military and returned
to his hometown to visit Ms. Rousch, he realized why she wanted to
help the brothers and learned a lesson that followed him throughout
his career.
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Master Sgt. Bartek Bachleda, 22nd Air Refueling Wing Plans and
Programs superintendent, refuels an F-18 Hornet in the air over
Missouri. Bachleda developed an ergonomically correct support
cushion and floor panel for KC-135 Stratotanker boom operators,
which potentially saves Airmen from future medical problems. (Image
created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. Air Force photos by Staff Sgt.
Trevor Rhynes - February 10, 2017 and Senior Airman Robert Gunn -
December 4, 2014)
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Don’t judge a book by it’s cover!
“She was a Women Airforce Service Pilot during World War II, and
she knew that I grew up in communism and understood what other
people didn’t,” said Bachleda. “She saw instantly that we were not
dumb just because we couldn’t communicate. So, whenever I see people
judging other people by their background or here in the Air Force
when they only see the stripes on their sleeve, that [upsets] me.
You have no idea who they are or what they’re capable of.”
After graduating high school, Bachleda enlisted in the Air Force as
an F-16 Fighting Falcon crew chief where his motivation and talents
were quickly noticed by those around him. After observing a trend of
failed engine bay inspections on the flightline around him, Bachleda
took it upon himself to train with the Quality Assurance inspectors
on his days off to learn what mistakes were being made so that he
could master exactly what to look for and make corrections.
Bachleda soon became an expert on these inspections to the point
that he was specifically appointed by leadership to be the final
step prior to any QA engine bay inspection requests. By the time
Bachleda was a senior airman, he was designated as a dedicated crew
chief to his own aircraft. From experience on the flightline
Bachleda ascertained a few more lessons.
There’s plenty
of ways to skin a cat!
“I don’t walk in to be the new sheriff in town or anything like
that, but I can’t help but see potential anywhere I go. I stay quiet
and observe first, and see there’s plenty of ideas to make a
difference in every squadron, every section and every building. So I
say, ‘How about we take a time out and talk about this process ...
ask questions. Why do we do things this way and can we make it
easier on us?’”
Be able to take criticism!
“You can’t have an idea and think everybody is going to accept
it. You have to have the mindset that everybody and their brother is
going to try to shoot it down. The solution to combat that is to ask
other people, ‘Tell me all the bad things about this idea. Don’t
tell me what’s right, tell me what’s wrong.’ Then, I can solve those
problems, incorporate all of those changes and make it the best
product possible.”
Bachleda eventually cross trained from
crew chief to boom operator and quickly made his mark on his new
career field. He spent 13 months developing an ergonomically correct
support cushion and floor panel for KC-135 Stratotanker boom
operators, which potentially saves Airmen from future medical
problems ... an invention that was picked up and is currently being
tested by the Air Force.
But Bachleda’s accomplishments
don’t stop there. His innovations even have him dabbling in other
career fields, from creating a new aircrew alert system to enhance
readiness to creating air refueling training videos to inspire and
coach a new generation of boom operators. In the process of
generating all of these innovations during his Air Force career,
Bachleda tailored a few tips for bringing ideas into fruition.
Sitting there wishing won’t get it done!
“If you see a problem, don’t just complain about it; try to solve
it. Figuring out the problem is number one: do the research, do the
measurements, conduct tests and start talking to people with
experience to come up with the best solution.”
Show up
to play!
“Don’t show up to be a participant. Show up to play. When I make
a promise that I’m going to deliver on something, come hell or high
water it’s going to happen. That’s the mindset you should have. If
you have an idea you care about I don’t want to ever hear you say
you’re trying to do something ... you’re going to do it. Change your
mindset and change it now.”
You can’t make everybody
happy!
“There’s always going to be people who don’t understand the
things you do. Don’t let anyone discourage you with the word ‘no’
just because they think like everybody else and you don’t. I despise
the answer ‘no’ when it comes to change. It shows me that you’re not
open minded when it comes to something that could change our Air
Force.”
This lesson of individual resilience and an
open-minded attitude is not only shown through Bachleda’s problems
solving, but is distinct within his leadership style, and is a
shared principle passed down through his chain of command.
Let your horses run!
“As a leader I need to understand where an individual finds joy
and what things make them want to do what they do,” said Lt. Col
Wendell Hertzelle, 22nd ARW XP chief. “If you can find those areas
you can tap into the interest, encourage them and shape that to
improving the mission. Bachleda aligns a lot with me in this way
when it comes to supervising. If an Airman wants to help in
different way, there’s no need to restrain them. They’ll not only
accomplish the mission, but you’ll get extra value.”
Bachleda
and his supervisor see eye to eye on leadership styles, and Bachleda
uses a lot of these same approaches in how he supervises Airmen of
his own.
It’s okay not to think like everyone else!
“Your comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing grows there.
Step out of the box. If you’re thinking like everybody else, you’re
not really thinking.”
Bachleda never sees a problem as too
difficult to tackle, and throughout all of his battles and
accomplishments in his career at the end of the day it’s all about
attitude.
“My mindset and the way I think is different,”
said Bachleda. “Every morning I wake up I have a positive attitude.
I approach every day as a new challenge and I think, ‘What can I do
to help people and make things better around me and make our Air
Force better?’
By U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jenna Caldwell
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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