Photo By Airman Paden Henry | U.S. Air Force Capt. Rotimi Adedokun, 86th Chaplain Corps chaplain, offers insight on...... read more read more
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RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – Service members across the Kaiserslautern Military Community gathered at Vogelweh Chapel for the Exceptional Leadership Forum, an event designed to connect service members with senior leaders through open discussion on leadership, mentorship and professional development, March 15.
The forum is an on-going once a month event organized by Capt. Rotimi Adedokun, a 86th Chaplain Corps chaplain at the Vogelweh Chapel. It was designed to give service members the chance to be face-to-face with leaders and connect with them on their career journeys, including the challenges and setbacks they have faced along the way.
“It’s a leadership forum,” Adedokun said. “The goal is to connect Airmen with leaders who have walked through different stages of their careers and share what they’ve learned.”
Adedokun describes that the intent of the forum is to help junior enlisted personnel across all branches a chance to see themselves within the past experiences of leaders and show they once stood where the junior service members stand now.
“Some people almost left the Air Force,” he said. “Some struggled at work or faced personal challenges but they had mentors who helped guide them through it. Stories like that help Airmen see that where they are today doesn’t define where they can go.”
Lt. Col. James R. Morris, 37th Airlift Wing commander, was a guest speaker and shared his perspective on leadership and the responsibility leaders have to mentor the next generation of Airmen.
“Leadership development is important because at every level we’re all leaders,” Morris said. Whether we’re in a position of authority or not, we influence the people around us.”
During his remarks, Morris was asked to describe leadership in one word. His answer was trust.
“Trust is the foundation,” Morris said. “As a leader you have to extend that trust to your team immediately and in return you earn that trust through your actions and how you take care of your Airmen.”
He added that accountability and communication are essential to maintaining that trust, especially when leaders must make difficult decisions.
“Effective leadership is accountable leadership,” Morris said. “When we ask people to do hard things or make tough decisions, we owe them the context and the ‘why’ behind it as much as we can.”
The forum, although held at the chapel, is not faith-based and Adedokun hopes to expand beyond the chapel setting in the future by bringing similar leadership discussion to squadrons and units across the installations.
According to Adedokun, many Airmen early in their careers face demanding schedules and uncertainty, which can make it hard for them to picture themselves succeeding in the service.
“People need to see a reflection of who they want to become,” Adedokun said. “They need to know leaders are human too.”
For more information and the next date of the Exceptional Leadership Forum, reach out to Vogelweh Chapel by calling +04963 7146148.
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.19.2026 06:23 |
| Story ID: | 560881 |
| Location: | RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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