Photo By Airman 1st Class Camren Ray | A group of Airmen help a teammate over a wall to accomplish a task during the...... read more read more
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The 2024 Ohio Air National Guard Leadership Symposium recently took place at Camp Perry Joint Training Center in Port Clinton, Ohio, drawing more than 110 noncommissioned officers and company grade officers from all wings and geographically separated units for three days of intensive professional development and readiness training.
“We are doing something that’s never been done before in the state of Ohio, or perhaps anywhere in the United States for the Air National Guard,” said Brig. Gen. David Johnson, assistant adjutant general for Air. Johnson said that for the last 15 years, the Ohio Air National Guard has held an enlisted leadership symposium that has been highly successful in developing NCOs into leadership roles. However, this year’s symposium marked the first time that both NCOs and CGOs from across the state were brought together for this purpose.
The symposium featured two days of rigorous training briefs and readiness sessions, focusing on enhancing the leadership capabilities of participants while gaining insights into the unique and diverse mission sets of the Ohio Air National Guard wings.
One of the central themes of the symposium was the concept of mission command. This philosophy of leadership empowers Airmen to operate in uncertain, complex and rapidly changing environments. It relies on trust, shared awareness and a clear understanding of the commander’s intent.
Maj. Gen. John C. Harris Jr., Ohio adjutant general, told attendees there are three crucial components required for leaders to grow trust within a cohesive team to enable mission command: character, competence and connectedness.
“When all else fails and you’re not sure what to do, when you’re weighing those major decisions, ask yourself, ‘which one is going to build trust in my team? Which one is going to erode trust in my team’ and then always do what builds trust,” Harris said.
The adjutant general provided real-life applications of mission command and emphasized the importance of evolving structures and processes within the Air Force. This ensures Airmen can continue operations in a decentralized manner, even amid the anticipated fog and frictions of complex operating environments.
The third and final day, “Warrior Day,” was a 10-hour series of mental and physical team challenges and readiness training exercises, culminating in a combat dining-in, a unique and spirited tradition in the military community that helps facilitate camaraderie, fellowship and social interaction among Airmen who take part.
Warrior Day participants found themselves working in diverse teams to execute a series of demanding physical and mental tasks in a simulated combat scenario.
“We spent the last two days teaching mission command, but Warrior Day is the accumulation (of everything taught and discussed during the symposium). They are taking everything they’ve learned over the last two days; we are putting them into small teams, and they are tackling obstacles that are very challenging in a contested environment,” Johnson said.
Starting with 10 obstacles within the Leadership Reaction Course, a customizable course that allows for small group leadership training based on practical application, participants solved each obstacle challenge using strategic problem-solving and physical aptitude. After an MRE (meal, ready to eat) lunch and a beach flyover from F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 180th Fighter Wing in Swanton, Ohio, each team was required to navigate their way to various locations across the base to face five separate warlike simulated challenges. Warrior Day ended with a “Gladiator Game,” where one ultimate warrior from each team was selected to complete in a final showdown of physical and mental endurance.
Following the closing of the Warrior Day challenges, all participants were released to prepare for the combat dining-in, which would celebrate the culmination of the symposium and everything learned and achieved during the past three days. As part of the celebration, participants were permitted to alter or modify any U.S. military utility uniform, wear face paint and were provided a special list of rules, known as “the rules of the mess” to adhere to throughout the festivities, a fitting end to a physically strenuous and mentally demanding multiday exercise.
“Ohio has a very large, very capable Air National Guard,” Johnson said. “Right now, in strength, we are No. 3 in the country with four wings and two GSUs (geographically separated units) that provide capability unlike any other state. The Air Guard is taking us places that we’ve never been and to the places that we need to go.”
The 2024 Leadership Symposium stands as a testament to the ongoing commitment to professional development and readiness within the Ohio Air National Guard, ensuring that its leaders are empowered to be “Always Ready, Always There” for the citizens of Ohio and the United States.
| Date Taken: | 11.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.15.2024 16:14 |
| Story ID: | 485448 |
| Location: | PORT CLINTON, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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