Chief master sergeants from Kunsan Air Base, Osan Air Base, Daegu Air Base, and U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys gathered for the second year in a row for the 7th Air Force-hosted Chief’s Business Symposium Sept. 3-6 at the Dragon Hill Lodge in Seoul.
This symposium focused on enhancing senior enlisted leaders’ strategic thinking, emphasizing the importance of connecting national strategy to daily operations, and was designed to build upon current professional military education.
Lt. Gen. David Iverson, Seventh Air Force commander, set the tone at the beginning of the symposium, explaining what the numbered air force is moving toward on the peninsula in the future.
“It was important that our chiefs heard directly from Lt. Gen. Iverson on the first day,” said Chief Master Sgt. Jeremiah Ross, Seventh Air Force command chief. “He led a frank discussion about his priorities and how the 7th Air Force contributes to deterrence and great power competition in the region.”
The schedule for this event was designed to stimulate strategic conversations between the chiefs and strengthen the network between leaders.
Ross’ favorite part was observing conversations continue when the formal sessions ended.
“Instead of rushing out to breaks, our chiefs kept talking amongst themselves about what was just discussed and proposed to the group,” Ross said. “That’s where we made our money on this event, we generated critical thinking conversations that will continue well after our event concluded.”
The symposium curriculum was developed by Ross and an unlikely project officer, Sonny Haquani, a senior airman with experience as a strategic policy advisor for state and federal levels, currently assigned to the 392nd Intelligence Squadron at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii.
Ross discovered Haquani’s unique background during a trip to Hawaii and recognized the need to collaborate with the Airman, whom he now considers a mentor, to develop curriculum for the event.
“Airmen joining the Air Force today are not the typical high school graduate like I was,” Ross said. “They are better prepared, have more life and civilian experience. Our airmen think critically and bring perspective to our ranks that we need for the high-end fight. As senior enlisted leaders, our job is to connect dots to the why, give our airmen the right tools, and support them as they do amazing things.”
One hot topic in this year’s symposium was the Warfighter Mindset which was presented by Maj. Tiffany Harwood, the director of psychological operations for the Airman Resiliency Team in Hawaii.
She and Haquani began by administering a survey to the chiefs that assessed various aspects of their individual mindsets. The results were used to highlight what the group valued about resiliency and provide recommendations for how they might adjust their approaches going forward.
“She armed our chiefs with additional self-care tools,” Ross said. “All airmen need a solid resiliency foundation as failure to do so will negatively impact readiness for any level on conflict.”
Attendees at the workshop had varying levels of experience, from those who had been chiefs for several years to those preparing to sew on the stripe. Among them was Senior Master Sgt. Kenneth Rodriguez, the 36th Fighter Generation Squadron senior enlisted leader who was selected to promote later this year.
“Ultimately, it's kind of helped me refocus on, ‘what do I need to do for my airmen?’,” Rodriguez said. “And maybe that's what it was about, is kind of getting us all together, having a conversation, so we can refocus on us as chiefs.
“We don't know all the answers and while there may be that perception or expectation that as the chief, you should know all the answers, we don't,” he said. “We should be leveraging everyone in our unit to be the best that they are.”
Haquani felt strongly about being able to provide his perspective and experience to demonstrate what Airmen at all levels are capable of.
“The main things I hope they took away from the presentations were that one, we can inspire our Airmen and move them from compliance on a job to commitment to a mission - if leaders give increasing access to strategic perspectives as Airmen progress in their careers,” Haquani said.
This belief underscores the need for early and consistent introduction to higher-level perspectives throughout an airman’s career.
“Two, as chiefs, they have a special ability to help Airmen identify that third facet of a life purpose: because of their experience, they can authentically speak to what the world needs across the spectrum of service focal points that any given Airman could care about, from building people to shaping systems.”
Haquani was introduced to the group without his rank, and only his civilian biography. It wasn’t revealed until the third day that he is a senior airman.
"I think it was a good exercise for all of us chiefs, for the whole kind of surprise twist,” Rodriguez said. “But what I think was the most impressive was how he maintained after that; he just kept going.”
Rodriguez said the exercise helped them to think about how strategy plays into their daily tasks and how they can relate it to the overall big picture. He also mentioned that the chiefs are trying to adopt a warfighter mentality.
“How can we leverage everyone's talents for their benefit and for the mission's benefit?” Rodriguez said. “It was really good to hear a lot of experienced chiefs talking and having some open dialog.”
The symposium also covered budgeting processes, the importance of self-care, as well as insights from senior leaders from Headquarters Air Force and Pacific Air Forces.
“Our senior enlisted leaders now have extra tools for their kit bags with the goal of making us all a little more efficient and effective,” Ross said.
Last year was the first year of the symposium, Ross and his team took feedback from the chiefs to develop this year's curriculum. Next year, the focus may be different, but the intent will be the same.
“Generate tough discussions, give people tools for their kit bag, and just like we ask of our Airmen, go do great things,” Ross said. “That’s what we armed our chiefs to go do -- great things.”
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.27.2024 03:53 |
| Story ID: | 481684 |
| Location: | OSAN AIR BASE, KR |
| Web Views: | 9 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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