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MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Taking care of families is a fundamental philosophy in the culture of U.S. Special Operations Command. As part of that culture, the Command sponsored a week-long Teen Leadership Program, July 22-26, for 19 children of members serving U.S. SOCOM.
U.S. Army Gen. Bryan Fenton, commander of U.S. SOCOM, and U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Shane Shorter, command senior enlisted leader of U.S. SOCOM, welcomed students to the headquarters during their visit.
“First of all, thank you for participating in the Teen Leadership Program. The sergeant major and I view you as the sunrise leaders – Shane and I are the sunset leaders,” said Fenton. “Your parents are so proud of you for attending this program and I can tell you are proud of them.”
“General Fenton is a huge supporter of taking care of our families, but more specifically, our military children. I have heard him say a number of times, ‘There is no smooth road for military children, we need to take steps to even out the potholes,’” said Ann Maglio, Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF) Lead with U.S. SOCOM. “We took a concept from Joint Special Operations Command, at Gen. Fenton’s request, and created a more collaborative, community-based program. It mirrors a program done through the Chamber of Commerce (Collegiate Tampa) to expose the students to different backgrounds using Tampa Bay: professional and minor sports teams, hub for tech industry, culturally diverse, robust trade center and financial hubs, and hospitality to include cruise industry, and so much more.”
The Teen Leadership Program is part of POTFF which aims to bring service members and their families together to alleviate daily stressors they experience through family and social connectedness. The primary objective for the Teen Leadership Program focuses on developing teens’ leadership competencies through an iterative framework that reinforces positive elements of their identities as military youth while instilling a sense of self-awareness, confidence, resiliency and collaboration. The program also provides teens with opportunities to connect and grow by building their inclusive leadership, empathy, integrity, teamwork and strengthening healthy familial, peer-to-peer and community relationships.
This year’s program had a different theme for each day to include community services, media and education, government and tourism, local history, arts and culture, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The days incorporated values-based leadership capabilities, self-awareness and confidence in tandem with community engagement and post-secondary education exposure.
Additional to visiting U.S. SOCOM Headquarters, students toured U.S. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Florida, a Federal Bureau of Investigation office, the Tampa Museum of Art and SOFWERX, the innovation platform for U.S. SOCOM.
Alethia La Cava, a student at Brooks Debartolo Collegiate High School, attended the Teen Leadership Program last year.
“The program helps influence other students to become better leaders and people. I was honored to be a part of the pilot program and meet all the wonderful people and see all the interesting places we visited,” said La Cava. “The program taught me so much about leadership, resilience, communication, their importance, STEM, career goals and preparations. The program also helped me with public speaking and taught me so much about SOCOM and how they use leadership in their everyday lives along with important leaders.”
La Cava’s experience the previous year led to her attendance this year, but in a different role.
“I returned because I enjoyed my time last year. I was also looking forward to meeting some more good people and helping them have a valuable experience like I did,” said La Cava. “My role this year is to help the rising leaders with their own experience in the program and make sure they have an enjoyable time and learn a lot.”
The leadership program is based on mentorship, students mentoring students, and developing the next generation of leaders.
“The second year of the SOCOM Teen Leadership Program was highly impactful! The involvement of previous graduates as team leaders not only enriched the program with their knowledge and experience but also empowered them to take charge by designing their own half-day programs,” Maglio said. “This initiative significantly contributed to their personal growth and instilled a stronger sense of responsibility among the second-year participants. Moreover, by strengthening partnerships with local organizations and government entities, the program was able to introduce new perspectives and resources that enhanced the overall experience. This collaborative approach facilitated the acquisition of valuable skills and offered a range of opportunities for both new participants and returning teens.”
The Teen Leadership Program is now cemented as an annual program and will add quarterly leadership opportunities.
“Looking ahead, the anticipation of increased participation and the addition of quarterly leadership opportunities is exciting. These plans will undoubtedly further strengthen the program and foster continuous development for all our rising leaders,” Maglio concluded.
| Date Taken: | 08.02.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.02.2024 08:02 |
| Story ID: | 477616 |
| Location: | MACDILL AFB, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 91 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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