Photo By Master Sgt. Darnell Cannady | U.S. Air Force Col. Jason Brown, 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance...... read more read more
Commanders and senior enlisted leaders from the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing gathered for a Global Sync conference at the 169th Intelligence Squadron in Salt Lake City, Dec. 5-9, 2016.
Global Sync is a four-day conference that allows all 480th ISRW and group leaders to share practices, improve processes and overall communication.
With the 480th ISRW consisting of six geographically separated bases that work together to complete the ISR mission, this conference allows the wing to collectively share thoughts.
“It was incredibly productive,” Lt Col. Laura S. Thompson, 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron commander and 102nd ISRG deputy commander Otis Air National Guard Base Massachusetts. “It’s great to hear across the entire enterprise what everyone’s issues are, what they are doing to come up with a great solution, as well as getting the 480th ISRW commander’s input as far as where we are going from here and what his vision is.”
One common thing throughout the discussions was the shared goal of improving the personal and professional quality of life for Airmen.
“The very first thing we talked about was how we can make the mission and quality of life for our Airmen better,” said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. John Thompson, 480th ISRW command chief. “We discussed what is happening at the flight and group levels and then looked to see what we can do together as a wing to help”.
Whether through discussing how to improve the ways their Airmen get access to training aids, changing training methods or showing an Airman’s potential career progression with “Professional Development Placemat” programs, these leaders want the best tools for their Airmen.
“We are on the cusp of an evolution in the way we train our Airmen and conduct operations in the 480th ISRW,” said Chief Thompson. “We’re going to put the operations back in the senior grade company grade officers, NCOs and first line supervisors’ hands, meaning it will be their responsibility to train their Airmen. I believe this will change the culture for the better to where those Airmen can believe that they can do anything they want in this wing”.
Other quality of life issues discussed during the conference included sharing information about available food and child care services for Airmen working late or odd hours.
“Within the Air Force at large I think we do a really great job at taking care of Airmen but this wing is really special and we go above and beyond to take care of their Airmen,” said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. David Plouff, 694th ISRG superintendent. “What we see is when you put that time into your Airmen that it pays dividend on the mission. They feed into each other so it’s great that the officers and senior enlisted members understand that if you take care of your Airmen then they will take care of the mission.”
Another program discussed was the Airmen Resiliency Team, which allows analyst Airmen to speak directly with a trained and staffed mental health or chaplain member about any stressful exposure they’ve encountered during their missions.
“One thing I’ve seen since the last Global Sync is that we’ve talked about the ART program, which is a really spectacular program,” said Plouff. “It has taken time to build that out and to get people into the positions. That was one of the greatest things that people highlighted a lot and is saving lives”.
One key aspect of the conference was about ensuring great Total Force Integration with their Reserve and National Guards intelligence Airmen. Commanders and chiefs from Air National Guard and Reserve units attended the conference and shared their knowledge with the groups.
“It was great to see other’s groups’ solutions such as what they are doing, what their challenges are, and how other Guard units are integrating with their active duty core site counterparts,” said Colonel Thompson.
Global Sync is held twice a year, allowing the various leaders to discuss collaborations and future initiatives and to update the 480th ISRW leadership about the next Global Sync.
"We want to be in a position to lead the way in developing Airmen," said U.S. Air Force Col. Jason Brown, 480th ISRW commander. "How we can best develop our Airmen, as individuals and as teams. This was the common theme at the Global Sync, and I have no doubt that will be these important conversations will continue until the next time we gather."
| Date Taken: | 12.19.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 10.02.2019 17:27 |
| Story ID: | 345576 |
| Location: | SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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