Courtesy Photo | 927th Air Refueling Wing Citizen Airmen attend the AFA National Convention in National...... read more read more
A key focus area for the 927th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill AFB, Fla., is development for the entire force and much of that work begins with the non-commissioned officer tier and junior enlisted Airmen. From driving the commitment to uphold standards to understanding evolution of the Air Force’s structure, every Airman has a role to play. Two September events punctuated the focus that leaders within the 927 ARW place on this process: the Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) National Convention and a fully custom-tailored, in-house Tech. Sgt. Symposium.
The command team ensured members from every tier were afforded the opportunity to hear directly from senior Department of Defense leaders at the AFA National Convention, National Harbor, MD., Sept. 14-15.
“We’re putting in the time and resources to truly develop our noncommissioned officers,” said Chief Master Sgt. Vishal Rose, 927th ARW Command Chief. “We see the value in sending them to these events to hear directly from Air and Space leaders. They’re learning the ‘Why’ behind steps the Air Force is taking to transform and re-optimize for Great Power Competition, and they’re bringing the knowledge back to their units to share with the rest of the Reserve force.”
Bringing these lessons and more, the 45th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron built and executed their own symposium event centered on the Tech. Sgt. rank, Sept. 21, during a temporary duty assignment to Puerto Rico accomplishing Annual Tour training. Led by Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Bley, 45th AES operations superintendent and Senior Master Sgt. Jill Defayette, 927th Security Forces Squadron first sergeant, with coordination and support from Senior Airman (Now 2nd Lt.,) Christopher Rex, the symposium centered around getting back to the basics as experienced non-commissioned officers in the Air Force Reserve and afforded the opportunity to reinforce their knowledge, network with one another and ask questions of Senior Enlisted Leaders in the 927th Air Refueling Wing.
“We wanted to make sure they are developing themselves so that they can help lead and develop future leaders,” said Bley. “They are the technical experts for training and teaching, from being that first-line supervisor enforcing standards to helping airmen promote, ensuring they are completing CDCs (Career Development Courses) and PME (Professional Military Enhancement.)”
The facilitators highlighted tools within MyFSS such as MyVector to reinforce their utility and laid out the keys to improving the culture within their organizations. Chief Rose set the tone of the event, echoing sentiments from senior leaders at the AFA symposium and speaking with participants about refocusing on the culture of standards.
“The advantage we have over peer adversaries is our NCO corps. We are developing leaders who think critically, analyze complex situations and learn extemporaneously,” said Rose. “Enforcing and maintaining our standards in all aspects from uniform wear to the details in our functional jobs is the key to success in the era of Great Power Competition.”
From capitalizing on AFA to creating their own symposium from the ground up, the 927th ARW routinely strives to connect Citizen Airmen to the larger Air and Space Forces vision and create leaders from within who are trained and prepared, in turn, to develop more leaders.
“Allowing them to directly see the vision and direction of the Air Force encourages them to seek out knowledge and improve their own units,” said Chief Rose. “Holding one another accountable to the Air Force standards while simultaneously leaning forward and transforming the way we do business here in the 927th positions us well to adapt to coming challenges and stay Ready Now.”
| Date Taken: | 11.21.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.04.2024 12:53 |
| Story ID: | 485833 |
| Location: | FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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