Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Eugene Crist | Master Sgt. David Whanger, first sergeant for the 130th Aircraft Maintenance squadron...... read more read more
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“Atlus tendo” is the Latin for “I reach high.” This is the motto for the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy, and Master Sgt. David Whanger, first sergeant for the 130th Aircraft Maintenance squadron at McLaughlin Air National Guard Base, Charleston, West Virginia., was recently selected to attend this sister-service professional military education (PME) course.
Whanger applied through the State Command Chief and was selected as one of two members from the entire Air National Guard to attend this course with the U.S. Coast Guard in fiscal year 2017.
The U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy in Petaluma, California serves as the Navy and Coast Guard equivalent of the Air Force Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) course, by providing leadership and mentoring training to newly promoted E7s.
Whanger has a personal connection to the U.S. Coast Guard. His uncle was a retired Chief Petty Officer in the USCG and during the course of his career, attended the Air Force SNCO course at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
While growing up, Whanger’s uncle told him about the wonderful memories of the SNCO course and how amazing his experience with the Air Force had been. He came to experience the same sentiment as his uncle, but only fully understood after attending the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy.
Whanger expressed his initial impression of the course by stating, “The school’s [U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy] approach to leadership is very unique. Rather than approaching a problem as an individual, you learn to work as a team member from day one. Never once did we use the word ‘I;’ it was always a team-building environment with an emphasis on ‘we.’ As Senior NCOs, we were expected to collectively set an example for our troops. It really opened my eyes up to a more holistic approach as a first sergeant.”
Whanger further explained that the school taught him to tailor his mentoring and counseling approach to fellow military members based upon their personality types, rather than focusing purely on other factors.
“If an individual may need some mentorship, I learned to look at the root cause for this,” he said.
Rather approaching a situation from a disciplinarian standpoint, students at the academy build upon the ideas of the Briggs Myers personality theory. This approach addresses various situations from a standpoint of how the message might be interpreted by the audience. If a service member is continuing to experience problems at work or in other areas of their life, Whanger learned to focus more of the source of the problem, rather than the action itself. This mentoring style helps to address the genesis of an issue and work towards resolution, rather than getting caught up on the potential consequences of an action.
Given the family history of military service and attending sister service institutions, Whanger said that he felted truly blessed to have been given this opportunity.
He summarized his attendance at the academy as being one of the best experiences of his military career. His final thoughts described the learning process as “leadership that helps you recognize more of yourself at the same time. You definitely come out a more well-rounded person with a new set of leadership tools to use.”
| Date Taken: | 03.05.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.05.2017 15:39 |
| Story ID: | 225729 |
| Location: | CHARLEST, WEST VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 307 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Family Ties Bring Together Generations and Sister Services, by SMSgt Eugene Crist, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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