Luke Airman Receives AETC Gen. Billy J. Boles Mentorship Award

Photo By Senior Airman Caitlin Diaz-Gorsi | Official photo of TSgt Ollie Bradley, 56th AMXS command section NCOIC.  

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, AZ, UNITED STATES

03.17.2020

Story by Airman 1st Class Caroline Parks 

56th Fighter Wing

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. – A 56th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron NCO earned Air Education and Training Command-level award for his efforts in mentoring Airmen and junior officers.

Tech. Sgt. Ollie Bradley, 56th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron command section non-commissioned officer in charge, earned the Gen. Billy J. Bowles Mentorship Award for his work on and off-duty motivating his co-workers. Bradley will now compete at the Air Force level.

The Gen. Billy J. Boles Mentorship Award is given to an Airman who best exemplifies what it means to motivate and inspire their peers to perform at their best.

“I pride myself in my personal core values: perseverance, persistence, and faith,” said Bradley. “I intertwine that with the [Air Force core values]; I think that helps me balance who I am and how I lead.”
Bradley, retrained from the 56th Security Forces Squadron and now works under the 56th Force Support Squadron as a personnelist assigned to the 56th AMXS command section.

He said his experience working in multiple capacities within the Air Force has enhanced his ability to mentor Airmen.

“Learning the maintenance world has given me a new-found respect for maintainers in the career field,” said Bradley. “What they do is parallel to a lot of other career fields in the amount of work and effort they put into leading [and developing] their Airmen.”

Speaking highly of Bradley, 2nd Lt. Natalee Dueber, 56th AMXS section commander, explained the key qualities that set him apart from others and solidified him as a key choice for this award.

“One of his biggest [strengths] has been his genuine care for the people around him,” said Dueber. “Simply from a developmental aspect, the mentorship role he can play for Airmen [and] even for young officers, like myself, is what drove the ambition behind giving him [this] opportunity.”

Air Force doctrine states that mentorship is an important part of Air Force culture and should be implemented at all levels of the Air Force.

“Mentorship is everyone’s responsibility,” said Bradley. “Be transparent… understand that everyone makes mistakes, and [they] come from different backgrounds and different experiences.”

• Date Taken: 03.17.2020
• Date Posted: 03.17.2020 13:06
• Story ID: 365378
• Location: LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, AZ, US