Raise your hand: new First Sergeant Assignments Program

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Kirsten Brandes | U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Davina Tunstall, 86th Comptroller Squadron and Wing Staff Agencies first sergeant, poses for a photo recreating a World War 1 recruiting poster on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Nov. 4, 2019. The poster is meant to bring attention to the new volunteer-driven process for selecting first sergeant prospects, called the First Sergeant Assignments Program. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Staff Sgt. Kirsten Brandes)  

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY

11.04.2019

Story by Staff Sgt. Kirsten Brandes 

86th Airlift Wing

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- First sergeants from around Ramstein Air Base, Germany, gathered in the Hercules Theater on Nov. 4, 2019, to host a forum and answer questions about the recent changes to the first sergeant selection process.

In September, the Air Force Personnel Center announced the removal of the first sergeant assignment from the Developmental Special Duty selection process. While the DSD legacy process operated strictly on nominations, the new process will rely on a combination of volunteer and nominated senior noncommissioned officers with at least one year time-in-grade as a master sergeant.

To explain the details and answer questions about the new process, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Shannon Tabor, first sergeant functional assignment manager for AFPC, traveled from Joint Base San Antonio.

“What we’ve done is restructured, for the better,” Tabor said. “Now as a volunteer program, it’s absolutely amazing, from what I’m seeing on my end, the amount of people raising their hand to serve as a first sergeant.”

This transition is vital to cultivating a strong first sergeant corps.

“I look at this change as a step towards putting the right people in these positions,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Davina Tunstall, 86th Comptroller Squadron and Wing Staff Agencies first sergeant. “There are some first sergeants today that never wanted to be first sergeants, and that can come across as negative to people, because the attitude is different. Now we’re getting people that volunteer for it and want to do it.”

This change aligns with the sentiments of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein’s squadron revitalization initiative.

“Our leadership knows that the triad — the commander, the superintendent, and the first sergeant — in every unit across the Air Force is absolutely paramount to the success of the unit and our Airmen,” Tabor said. “If we get that structured right, with a good strong triad of leadership in the unit, that makes our force strong.”

For more information about the new First Sergeant Assignments Program, visit MyPers (http://www.mypers.af.mil/) and search “First Sergeant."

• Date Taken: 11.04.2019
• Date Posted: 11.04.2019 07:36
• Story ID: 350328
• Location: RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, DE