Character

By Brig. Gen. Karl McGregor, U.S. Air Forces Central / Published February 02, 2016

AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar (AFNS) -- The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Air Force, Defense Department or the U.S. Government.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” said Martin Luther King Jr., in one of his most famous speeches.

Character is what's deep inside each of us, it’s who we are on a daily basis, it's who we are when things go well and more importantly, when things go wrong. It’s who we are when we're in leadership positions, as well as with the family in our living rooms. Character is our moral and ethical strength; it is who we are when no one is looking. Character is a mix of traits that are distinct to each person and baked into that person's life. It's much more than just what we try to display for others to see, good character is doing the right thing because it is right to do so.

For those of us who serve in the military, we are and should be held to a higher standard than the general public. We are servants of our country and our bond to those we serve is tied to our reputations and inevitably, to the character that reputation is built upon. Reputation is a long-term display of good character traits and we enhance that display, by making our character traits consistent by living our morals and ethics every day.

We must model good character for ourselves, our families and our service organizations daily. When promises are made, no matter how small, they must be kept. Be a great example, be known as a promise keeper. Never take shortcuts, communicate the importance of quality to your team and make sure that in times of stress, the importance of delivering quality is not lessened. Stay consistent when you deal with others. Treat everyone with respect, regardless of how long the day has been or the number of setbacks created by people in the organization that "just don’t get it."

Finally, always self-audit. At the end of the day, week and month, review your decisions for bias and consistency against the character goals you're striving to achieve. Every action reflects on your character, as Whorton says, "no matter how small." Make sure your reflection is in line with who you are.

Analyzing failure, realizing success

By Col. Ryan Samuelson, 379th Expeditionary Operations Group / Published February 01, 2016

AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar (AFNS) -- The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Air Force, Defense Department or the U.S. Government.

“We have an issue. I’ll call him in and figure out why he failed to…” said the supervisor who walked into my office that sunny day.

“Stop,” I said, “find out the facts, let me see the outcome of the mistake, and let me see if I own it before you say he failed.”

A puzzled look from the supervisor ensued. The details of the individual and the failure are inconsequential. Tying failure immediately to an individual seemed too easy a conclusion for me. What mattered was the process of analyzing failure in hopes of realizing unit success. After all, in the military we are surrounded by amazing patriots every day who strive to make a positive difference.

A rush to judge the professional who experienced failure before engaging in a rational evaluation of all the details is detrimental to building a team who is eager to serve, learn, fix, and better execute our Air Force’s diverse missions. In over 22 years of service, I have come to firmly believe nearly 97 percent of all events we deem as failures by a person or a team are attributed to one of three reasons; and supervisors and leaders own them. Let’s evaluate:

First, did you properly set out expectations and provide appropriate and robust feedback?

It is the foundation for everything. Where those on your team finish is rooted in where you ask them to start. If you have not set out clear priorities, expectations, limitations and goals, take caution criticizing the paths they take. Course corrections ingrained with open and consistent communication are paramount to setting up professionals and their teams for success. If you are in charge, listen intently, ponder more and talk less. Seek feedback, provide it and make your expectations concise.

Second, did you properly train; but more importantly, educate the professionals with whom you serve?

The demands of training for the multitude of missions Airmen are asked to accomplish often drive us to one-on-one computer-based training (CBT) modules and short slideshows. That is training and it is an important step, but it is not education. The bedrock of our military success is comprised of a professionally educated, not just trained, force. Only through consistent supervisor follow up, experience-driven opportunities, team discussions, leadership engagement, and an open and collaborative review of failures are professionals truly educated. Click, click, click, print certificate doesn’t work. Education is a multifaceted process. If you are provided with only a CBT to train you, then supervisors and leaders own any failures as a result.

Third, did you take time to see if the procedures by which your teams operate are broken, inefficient or ineffective?

Did the process fail the professional? In the military, we operate in one of the most dynamic environments on the planet. For those in the deployed environment, challenge what you see and how you operate if it is not leading to successful mission execution. When we apply an organize, train and equip “in-garrison” mentality to the deployed environment we run the risk of experiencing mission-impacting negative consequences. We risk failing. Processes must be challenged and fixed as we are not organized and resourced like the bases we left. Ensuring your team adheres to disciplined execution of their tasks starts with a sound process supervisors and leaders own. Repeat failures usually mean the process is broken and Airmen are being set up to fail. Unless a process is bounded by the laws of physics or chemistry, fix it if it’s leading to repeated failure.

Before rushing to judgement, as a supervisor and a leader, regardless of rank, apply some critical thinking and ask yourself those three basic questions when analyzing failure.

For the 3 percent who do not know the difference between a mistake and a crime, who willingly disregard technical order guidance and instructions, or who refuse to uphold the standards required in the profession of arms, we have ways of holding them accountable and we should to the maximum extent possible. We are all responsible for our actions. For the 97 percent, I believe supervisors and leaders owe them the flexibility to learn from mistakes, make the team stronger from those mistakes, and foster a culture which allows the discussion of those mistakes void of unnecessary repercussions to realize unit success.

If you do not encourage a systemic look at failure when it occurs, you run the risk of destroying effective chain of command communication, team cohesion, honest feedback and also the prospect of the building of effective learning organizations. Honest mistakes are part of everyone’s learning process. High performing professionals and teams are not driven by a fear of the consequences of their actions, but rather by the belief they are accomplishing something of importance with the support of their leadership.

Standards must be set and followed. Failure is rare when taken into context with the billions of actions and decisions our military professionals make daily. However, if an Airman or team fails, first ask yourself, “Do I own it? Have I looked at the big three -- expectations, education and process?” Analyze failure, then watch your team realize success. If you start there, you may find the great people who have chosen to join the world’s most effective air, space and cyber force will bring forward more issues to solve and ideas for success than you can handle. But that is a risk worth taking.

By the way, the failure I first mentioned above was mine to fix. I owned it. As a supervisor and a leader, will you?

Pathways to leadership: ALS comes to 501st CSW

by Airman 1st Class Zach Bumpus
501st Combat Support Wing Public Affairs

2/1/2016 - RAF ALCONBURY, United Kingdom -- In an Air Force characterized by ever-tightening budgets, the 501st Combat Support Wing is defined by its innovations, even if those ideas come from outside of its normal mission.

For the first time in 501st CSW history an Airman Leadership School class is being held at RAF Alconbury, United Kingdom, a move estimated to save the U.S. Air Force $80,000.

Typically when an Airman from the 501st CSW attends an ALS class they will be sent to RAF Feltwell, where the ALS schoolhouse is located. Feeding and lodging the future noncommissioned officers gets expensive fast, especially considering the length of the course. To combat this, instead of bringing the students to the class, the class has come to the students.

"For me this makes perfect sense," said Tech. Sgt. Andrew M. Contreras, the ALS instructor teaching the class on RAF Alconbury. "If we can save $80,000 by having one instructor come here instead of having all 15 students TDY [Temporary Duty Assignment] up to RAF Feltwell. It's really a no-brainer."

However, this cost saving measure comes with the question of how it will affect the mission. According to Contreras, the move of the class to RAF Alconbury could be very beneficial for the students.

"Outside of the cost saving initiative, the biggest advantage that we have in bringing the course here is that the Airmen can go home to their friends and families at the end of the day," said Contreras. "The course is designed to push them outside their comfort zones already, and when on top of that they are TDY to a new place it puts extra stress on them. Here they have the opportunity to go home at the end of the day, decompress and come back to class ready to go."

As this is the first time the class is being held on RAF Alconbury, continuous process improvement is a top priority.

"We've never done something like this before, but we are always looking for ways to get the most out of what we have," said Contreras. "We will really be relying on airman feedback to see what can be improved for next time."

NCOA PME strengthens, molds mentors

by Senior Airman Jonathan Stefanko
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

1/29/2016 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- Airmen throughout Germany gathered on Kapaun Air Station, Germany, to attend the Kisling NCO Academy's largest professional development course Jan. 22, 2015.

The course covered multiple topics ranging from knowing your role, professional military writing, stress management and much more.

Tech. Sgt. Rigoberto Vasquez, Kisling NCO Academy professional military education instructor, hosted the course to present approximately 135 Airmen the opportunity to learn and grow with hopes of improving their work and home life.

"The courses taught can be used by parents, sons or daughters, spouses, supervisors and subordinates," Vasquez said. "Everything discussed can be applied whether as a refresher or a new skill to add to their tool belt."

Along with discussing the various topics, guest speakers were also invited to tie in their own personal experiences so the audience could see how lessons can be applied.

"There is more to an Airman than a uniform and rank," Vasquez said. "Some of the briefers explained how their mentors helped guide them when they were going down the wrong track, and because someone cared enough to intervene they were able to change their ways and stay in the military."

Learning the importance of being a mentor inspired the crowd to apply these teachings to the way they lead their own troops.

"The one idea that will stick with me is to consider every aspect of a situation," said Staff Sgt. Lynne Penate Morrissette, Kisling NCO Academy commandant support administrator and course attendee. "Being able to recognize stress in your troops instead of thinking the worse could make the difference in their life and at work."

While the course catered more toward younger Airmen, Vasquez mentioned anyone who attends will gain something.

"We don't know it all," he said. "When you listen to the briefers who have years upon years of experience there is always something to gain. We had an audience from junior enlisted to officers and whether it's discussing the importance of knowing your role, ethics, or even staying humble these are skills we can always improve upon."

For more information on attending a Kisling NCO Academy professional development course, call DSN 489-8490.