Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Matthew Hecht | U.S. Air Force Col. Yvonne Mays, right, speaks with Col. Bradford Everman during the...... read more read more
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New Jersey Air National Guard leadership assembled at the state’s Joint Force Headquarters on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst for a two-day O-6/E-9 Summit, Sept. 1-2, 2020.
Led by Brig. Gen. Patrick Kennedy, Assistant Adjutant General-Air, and Commander of the New Jersey Air National Guard, along with state Command Chief Master Sgt. Michael Rakauckas, this year’s theme was “Leaders Building Leaders.”
“If we can’t solve the issues for our Airmen, no one else can,” said Kennedy, who started off the Summit highlighting key events the organization has faced in the past year.
The dynamics of maintaining readiness, supporting the state throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as providing support for civil unrest, tested the capabilities of New Jersey’s Citizen-Airmen.
“The last four to six months have been some of the most challenging that we as leaders have
faced,” continued Kennedy. “There’s so much going on in our communities, and our Airmen are deeply affected by all of it. Without a doubt, we’re a reflection of our community, and we need to take a hard look at ourselves to make sure that our Airmen have every opportunity to achieve their goals.”
According to New Jersey Air National Guard leadership, new force development programs are designed to to take Airmen out of their comfort zones for career-broadening tours.
“The goal is to start growing future leaders, future chiefs, and future commanders,” said Rakauckas. “Whether it’s moving someone between the state’s two wings, or participation in a leadership course, the experiences will grow and develop our Airmen for the future.”
By submitting a packet, Airmen will have the ability to volunteer for a variety of positions that match their interests, with the goal of developing institutional knowledge they can bring back to their home unit.
“Our goals and priorities are strategic engagement, readiness, developing Airmen, and innovation,” said Kennedy. “Innovation is more than a program, we need innovative thought, and Airmen development encompasses the force development program as well as CATALIST.”
CATALIST is a new program under the New Jersey Air National Guard’s Leadership Center of Excellence (LCOE), and stands for Cultivating Agile & Transformational Air Guard Leaders through Inspiring and Structured Training.
“We launched CATALIST because we have a responsibility to create a pool of capable candidates to replace today’s supervisors and commanders,” said Col. Lola Washington, director of the LCOE. “CATALIST will strengthen bonds and dialogue across our wings, ranks, and career fields by drawing together Guardsmen who will learn as a team. Candidates will see government in action and speak with public officials to form a richer understanding of the political systems under which the Guard operates.”
At the close of the summit, command reiterated the importance of communication with the force.
“It starts with leaders engaging in conversation and having frank discussions with our Airmen,” said Kennedy. “We have to make sure that we work to ensure our Airmen have everything they need to succeed.”
| Date Taken: | 09.02.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 09.02.2020 13:46 |
| Story ID: | 377329 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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