Photo By Senior Airman Vaughn Weber | U.S. Air Force Airmen, assigned to Incirlik Air Base, Türkiye, pose for a photo...... read more read more
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Members stationed at Incirlik Air Base, Türkiye, were given the valuable opportunity to learn the roles and responsibilities of a first sergeant during a First Sergeants Symposium from Oct. 7-10, 2024.
A first sergeants’ primary role is to advise commanders on readiness, health, morale, welfare and quality of life of Airmen and their families, to ensure a mission-ready force. This symposium, offered to members of Incirlik, ranks E-5 through E-6 along with company grade officers for the first time recently, taught attendees various legal processes, Airmen resources and useful leadership strategies.
“There is no typical day as a first sergeant, everyone that does the job will do it in their own way,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. John Perkins, 39th Air Base Wing Wing Staff Agency acting first sergeant. “People are always the priority and so it makes the day-to-day job change rapidly. You can go from advising the commander on disciplinary issues, to helping hand out awards all within a 10-minute window so you must be flexible and be ready for anything.”
When a unit’s first sergeant, or “shirt,” is temporarily away from their unit, the responsibilities must still be filled. Instead of taking a shirt from another unit and asking them to provide double the support, attendees of this symposium can now temporarily fill the role of an acting shirt.
“As an additional duty acting shirt, the experience has helped me understand the purpose of a first sergeant on a greater level,” said Perkins. “Seeing the way that we can be there for our people on some of their worst days and help them celebrate their best days, is a very rewarding experience.”
Additionally, this symposium allows members interested in becoming a first sergeant the chance to learn what the role entails before officially applying for the duty position. For example, incidents where security forces were involved were roleplayed giving an insight to those in attendance on how they might best be handled.
“I think it was eye-opening having both the scenarios along with the first sergeant’s own experiences discussed,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Miguel Ortega-Guzman, 39th ABW financial operations supervisor. “If someone was applying to be a first sergeant, this symposium probably helps them to solidify or think twice about the responsibilities.”
The First Sergeants Council at Incirlik Air Base hosts the first sergeant symposium twice a year, using curriculum provided by the First Sergeant Academy through Air University, at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.16.2024 03:14 |
| Story ID: | 483192 |
| Location: | TR |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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