Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Paula Macomber | National Guard Airmen from the Nevada Air National Guard participate in a friendly...... read more read more
As members of the Guard, the role that we play is unique when compared to our active duty counterparts.
We’re required to maintain the same qualifications and perform the same mission; only we’re afforded about three days a month to do so -- and that’s assuming you attend every drill and use your full two-weeks of annual tour.
It’s safe to say drill weekends are usually pretty busy.
But with all of our time allocated to Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) specific training and performing our day-to-day duties, when do we find time to cultivate our soft skills – or those attributes which enable us to manage ourselves, and our interactions with each other, effectively?
On Unit Training Assemblies it seems an impossible task to spend time on anything but our technical, on-the-job training; our hard-skills training.
Understanding this dilemma, Command Chief Master Sgt. Michael Drisdale and 152nd Airlift Wing leadership planned and executed the inaugural Battle Born Professional Development Fly-Away; a two-day workshop which focused on developing the skills outside of our technical training, and building camaraderie within the Wing.
Showtime outside of the Intel squadron was 0400 on Tuesday, July 31st, and by 0500 we were receiving our briefings. By 0730 our group of around 60 noncommissioned officers and ten senior noncommissioned officers were aboard our C-130 and on our way across the country.
After a short refueling stop at Tinker, Air Force Base in Oklahoma, we made it to McGee-Tyson Air National Guard Base in Maryville, Tennessee just in time to have dinner at the dining facility and check in at base lodging.
On our first day of instruction we were welcomed by the teaching staff and given information on how the next two days would unfold. The group was then split up into two classrooms of thirty, and our first day of instruction began.
My classroom began with bullet writing – the one hard skill we learned about during our stay. The course was excellent, and focused on the “AIR,” or “Action; Impact – Result” method of writing consistent with the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center’s Bullet Writing Guide (Jan., 2018).
We moved on to a time management course, where we self-identified personal time-wasting hindrances and worked as a group to share habits that might enable us to overcome those issues.
The first day ended with an activity where we worked in small groups to identify positive and negative characteristics of people we identify as leaders. We then talked in detail about what effects our leadership has on the junior Airmen under our supervision.
On day two we continued our classroom sessions with learning about how to address our unconscious biases, whether they be based in race, religion, sex or many other factors. We performed an activity where we each identified our closest circle of friends and listed characteristics about them (gender, race, age, education, etc.) After completing our lists, we found that most people’s “Trusted Ten,” or close knit group, were mostly like themselves. This was an effective way of showing each of us that it’s common for people to trust others who are similar to themselves, and that we all may have some unconscious biases.
Next, we learned about our “emotional intelligence,” or our ability to control and express our emotions. Our groups discussed instances where our emotions might get the best of us, and how to control or manage those situations before they become an issue. Many participants found that their emotional intelligence was something they identified as needing to work on, and found useful advice to practice in achieving that goal.
As the workshop wrapped up, everyone who participated seemed to take valuable insights and experiences away.
Most members of the group have been a part of the High Rollers for many years, though many of us, myself included, were relative newcomers.
Along with the tools I took away to help me become a better supervisor, I got to know a few new people during the trip.
The plan moving forward is to continue the Fly-Away next year, and hopefully many years after. I hope I have the opportunity to attend another – if not for the excellent training, for the opportunity to meet and share experiences with others from our Wing.
| Date Taken: | 08.03.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.07.2018 19:02 |
| Story ID: | 291889 |
| Location: | RENO, NV, US |
| Web Views: | 135 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, First person accounting of 2018 Battle Born Professional Development Fly-Away, by MSgt Garrett Wake, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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