Photo By John Hughel | Oregon Air National Guard Airman Brig. Gen. James R. Kriesel, Oregon Air National...... read more read more
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PORTLAND AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ore. – As the new commander of the Oregon Air National Guard, Brig. Gen. James A. Kriesel used the opportunity of the three-day, March 2-4, regularly scheduled drill (RSD) to brief and interact with Airmen of the 142nd Fighter Wing.
As he made his way around the base and stepped into one of several briefing rooms full of wing members, Kriesel emphasized many of the current Department of Defense (DoD) policy principles and offered direct feedback to members in attendance.
“I wanted to take this opportunity to interact directly and listen to your concerns,” he said, during his first stop with the Maintenance Support Group. “I want you all to know, that there is no group or organization that is as universally well-respected and trusted by a majority of Americans right now, then members of the U.S. Military.”
Making multiple stops and meetings around the base gave Kriesel a chance to emphasize new deployment policies, readiness issues, and larger global operational concerns. Citing a new Pentagon policy, service members who have been in a non-deployable status for more than 12 months or more, will be in most cases, separated from military service.
“Right now, somewhere about 10-12 percent of the total DoD force is non-deployable,” Kriesel described. “It’s really not fair or sustainable, seeing the same people, again and again, deploy because many of our service members cannot deploy.”
During his career, Kriesel said that he has deployed nine times prior to his current assignment and highlighted some of those missions abroad during the question and answer forums.
“When we show up (United State Armed Forces), whether it is in Asia, Europe or Africa, others around the world and our host nations instantly notice,” he said. “They know and expect the leadership role the U.S. takes on.”
This led many attending the meetings to ask a variety of questions regarding issues such as recruiting, retention, and more importantly, mission tempo and overall readiness.
“Within the Air National Guard, our numbers are pretty good right now,” Kriesel explained.
Along the planned morning meetings, Col. Jenifer Pardy, Director of Staff – Air, and State Command Chief Master Sgt. Ulana Cole accompanied Kriesel, getting a sense of questions and concerns of many members from the direct feedback sessions.
As she addressed many of the Airmen during the base-wide tour, Cole talked about two important issues with enlisted service members: civilian education benefits and Professional Military Education (PME).
“I can’t emphasize and stress the importance of working on PME and other career advancement opportunities,” Cole said. “You don’t want to miss out on a promotion or being able to take that next step in your career when applying for a job.”
Both Cole and Kriesel discussed the current Oregon House Bill 4035, which would provide for tuition assistance for Oregon National Guard members.
“We are just one of only two states in the country that don’t provide any tuition assistance for our members,” Cole said. “It’s important because the Air Force has mandated that promotions to Senior Master Sergeant (E-8) and Chief Master Sergeant (E-9) require a CCFA (Community College of the Air Force) degree.”
For members in the U.S. Air Force to complete their CCAF degrees, whether it is active, Reserve or Guard, partnering with public and private civilian education institutions is necessary for completing Associate Degree level coursework.
“The backbone of the military are our senior NCO’s (Non-Commissioned Officers)”, said Kriesel. “I cannot stress enough how important the senior enlisted force is when it comes to training and mentoring junior members, but just as importantly, providing that critical feedback to the officer corps as well.”
To emphasize this point, Kriesel acknowledged key enlisted Airmen at each stop as he presented his commander’s coin to a select handful of members, highlighting their outstanding effort and teamwork.
“Being a good Wingman means being a good teammate,” Kriesel concluded. “Our (Oregon National Guard) state motto stresses that ‘Every Airman is a leader,’ but what sets us apart in Oregon is not just that we are all leaders, it’s that we’re a leadership factory for the nation as a whole.”
| Date Taken: | 03.06.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 03.06.2018 17:53 |
| Story ID: | 268358 |
| Location: | PORTLAND , OR, US |
| Web Views: | 389 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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