Developing Leaders is NDU’s Core Mission, Dempsey Says

By Jim Garamone

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

FORT LESLEY J. McNAIR, Washington, D.C., Nov. 18, 2014 – Developing leaders that champion innovation is the core mission of the National Defense University, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said at the assumption of the presidency of the institution today.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey placed the flag of the university in the hands of Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Frederick M. Padilla, who took over as president of “the Chairman’s university” from Ambassador Wanda L. Nesbitt during a ceremony at Lincoln Hall here.

The National Defense University is the premier joint professional military education institution in America. In addition to military officers, students include DoD civilians, civilians from other government agencies and international students.

“Of all the things that we have to preserve in the National Defense University it is that interagency, whole-of-government, multinational relationship building that will get us through what the future holds for us,” Dempsey said during remarks at the ceremony.

Preparing Senior Leaders

The university prepares students to be leaders in the national security world. Graduates are general or flag officers, ambassadors, and other senior leaders in other national security fields. They must be prepared to confront the world they find.

“I deal as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs with two sets of problems,” Dempsey said. “One set of problems is related to state-on-state interactions.”

These state-on-state interactions are generally “knowable,” the chairman said. Nation states have a body of knowledge among them. They have a history and that accumulated experience helps all understand how to interact as nations and what part the military instrument of power plays in these interactions, Dempsey said.

Militaries in state-on-state interactions tend to differentiate themselves by size and technology, the chairman said.

The other set of problems is unknowable, he said. “They are complex in the sense that every time you touch them, you change them, and when you change them you have to readjust your thinking about them,” Dempsey said. This includes terrorism, transnational criminal cartels, even international and national disasters and humanitarian crises.

“The use of the military instrument of power against nonstate actors -- or even against infectious disease as we’ve found -- are actually uses that are unknowable,” Dempsey said.

“In that world the way we differentiate ourselves is not by size and technology, but rather by the rate of innovation,” the chairman said.

Success Depends Upon Innovation

The fruits of success “will go to he or she that innovates more rapidly, more thoughtfully and more effectively,” the general said.

NDU gives students the opportunity to think about and prepare for these issues, “because very quickly after graduation your time to think will shrink rather rapidly,” the general said.

“What you learn and absorb here, and the person you are when you leave here, and the relationships you’ve built, that can’t be copied, can’t be sold, can’t be replicated,” the chairman said. “That’s what provides us with the decisive edge for the world that we face.”

The chairman said university leaders will make changes as needed so that NDU continues as “the preeminent leadership development institution in the world.”

Airmen learn cultural diversity from NATO

by Senior Airman Timothy Moore
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

11/10/2014 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- The Kaiserslautern Military Community Top 3 Council presented the annual Cross-Cultural Awareness Professional Development Seminar at the U.S. Air Forces and Air Forces Africa Kisling NCO Academy auditorium, Nov. 5, 2014.

During the four-hour seminar, NATO leaders gave their perspective on cross-cultural awareness and engagement to KMC Airmen of all tiers and career fields.

"The purpose of this seminar is to showcase to our KMC military personnel what NATO is, how we fit into that picture and to give them the knowledge they need to operate in this environment," said Senior Master Sgt. Travis Robbins, USAFE-AFAFRICA senior enlisted international engagement manager.

The seminar included briefs on cultural diversity, ethics, NATO's mission and structure, and what it means to be an Alliance member.

Chief Warrant Officer Johannes Linnenbank, NATO School NCO Professional Department director, gave the briefs on cultural diversity and ethics.

"We all think we are open[-minded], but in a lot of situations we are not as open as we think," Linnenbank said. "I hope with these lectures we open minds."

Linnenbank spoke of being culturally sensitive to differences on thoughts such as timeliness, food and alcohol, male and female roles, and sexuality.

Robbins, who travels around talking to different NCO corps, said the seminar is a great way to show Airmen the importance of what the U.S. is doing overseas as a member of NATO.

"I think it's important for people serving, especially in this theater, to understand where they fit into that picture of NATO," Robbins said. "We are not just the U.S. Air Force occupying a base over here and acting as a transient center. We are here to integrate with these partners and work with them every day to make them better and make us better at the same time."

Master Aircrew Duncan Hide, Headquarters Allied Air Command senior NCO, echoed the sentiment during his brief on the NATO mission.

"The more we know about each other and the more we understand each other, the better we work together and the more interoperable we are," Hide said.

Robbins hopes that the Airmen that attended the seminar will take what they learned back to their work centers and discuss it.

"Hopefully, it helps people have a better understanding of why we are here, what NATO is and what we are moving forward," he said.

Though the seminar focused on cultural diversity in an international setting, it was also noted the same considerations could be applied to a local setting.

"We want to get people to think about, 'That could happen to me in an international setting, but that could also happen to me in my own headquarters,'" said Linnenbank. "How will you react? How can you react differently or better?"

Regardless of the location or organizations involved, the hope is the seminar helps increase the interoperability of all working together.

"We want to share and build in those relationships and partnerships," said Robbins. "As we move forward in whatever endeavor NATO, USAFE, the Army or whoever is charged with, we can operate together and understand each other better."

Senior enlisted leaders discuss cross-generational leadership

by Airman 1st Class Joseph Raatz
Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs

11/5/2014 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Cross-generational leadership was the topic of discussion during a seminar led by senior enlisted leaders at the Global Strike Challenge 2014 symposium here, Nov. 5.

Following the symposium's theme of empowering Airmen and bridging into the future, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody and Command Sgt. Maj. Patrick Alston, command senior enlisted leader at U.S. Strategic Command, hosted an engaging discussion to provide an enlisted viewpoint on the generation gap and its effect on modern military leadership.

"We have to bridge this generation gap in order to move forward into the future," Cody said. "These new men and women are the leaders of our military, or will be in the near future, and we have to understand that. I think the first step is that you have to acknowledge who they are as people, as individuals. You're not going to make them who you are, just as you're not the people who came before you."

Generational differences can create strain on the relationship between the leader and the led, Alston said. One way to alleviate this is through developing a deeper understanding of those differences.

"We have to understand that we are not dealing with the Airmen of yesterday, but with the Airmen of today," Alston said. "We have to transform our leadership abilities to reflect that and to be able to reach them. You have to reach into their circle, to understand their needs. Without you understanding them, your leadership methods may fall on deaf ears."

Cody and Alston discussed how differences in the way the current generation was raised can impact how they respond to different leadership styles.

"In order to be a profound leader, you have to understand the individuals that you're leading," Alston said. "The generation you're dealing with today is a generation that has a foundation of being inquisitive. They're not being inquisitive for the purpose of questioning your authority, but to be able to better understand the total meaning of the orders or direction you've given them. You have to adapt to that to remain an effective leader."

By creating a strong bridge between generations, Cody said, leaders can tap the full potential of their most important resource: people.

"It's about having meaningful and purposeful discussions with the men and women who serve," Cody said. "This bridge is built on mutual trust and respect. Over time we will work through all those dynamics and that bridge will be built and will become very strong."

"We will value and acknowledge each and every person that comes into our military for who they are what they bring to the table," he continued.  "And they do bring a tremendous amount to that table."

Dempsey Discusses Leadership at Syracuse University

By Jim Garamone

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2014 – You don’t get to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff without learning something about leadership along the way.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey has been a leader at every military level throughout his 40-year career and he shared some of his insights with civilian and military students at Syracuse University in Central New York on Friday.

Leadship is More Than Giving Orders

Leadership is more than simply ordering people to do something. “You might try to bludgeon your way through, but it doesn’t work well,” the chairman said.

Dempsey gave the students a couple of tools to place in their toolboxes as they prepare for service in national security.

Leaders, he said, must get used to the fact that they are going to be asked to do more than one thing at a time. Leaders have to prioritize and junior leaders cannot rely on senior leaders to always set the agenda. “What is a priority today may not be tomorrow, and you have to be prepared for that,” Dempsey said.

He noted that if he had visited Syracuse last year, no one would be talking about Ebola or Crimea or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Leaders Present Solutions To Problems

He told the students to not simply pass a problem up the chain to the boss, but to pass it with a recommendation. This is just another way to say that leaders have to agile in their thinking and actions.

The chairman discussed risk. “Making decisions as a leader involves risk, and that risk is either manageable or not depending on how you deal with it,” he said. “It’s not a leader’s job to prevent risk, rather it is the leader’s job to enable subordinates to take risks.”

Every action has risk and there is no way to drive risk to zero, he said. Risk should not paralyze action.

Candor is a trait all must have. “If there’s more truth in the hallway, than in the meeting room, you’ve got problems,” Dempsey said.

He urged them to speak truth to power, and for leaders to not be afraid of disagreements.

Dempsey stated that competence and character are needed in equal measure. Leaders can’t have one without the other. “Competence will get you to the table, but character is what keeps you at the table,” he said.

Humility Matters

The chairman also discussed humility. He quoted an old saying that “you can get a lot done in Washington if you don’t care who gets credit.” He called it a truism of life in government. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking less about yourself,” he said. “You should be optimistic, you should be ambitious, you should be self-confident.”

He urged the students to be approachable. “The best of our leaders are extremely approachable,” he said. Put people at ease and listen to what they have to say.

And he urged the students to never stop learning. Abraham Lincoln wrote long before he became president “I will study and prepare, and perhaps my day will come.”

“Commit to be a life-long learner, and if history calls on you, you will be prepared,” he said.

Dempsey ended with a quote from William Butler Yeats: “Talent perceives differences. Genius perceives unity.”

He said that right now the people of the United States perceive the differences among us all too easily. “You can’t miss the differences that separate us,” he said. “Genius perceives unity. Genius is what allows us to come together. That’s what this country does. That’s what sets us apart.”

He told the students to look around the room and note the differences. “I travel all around the world and I would never see an audience like this – men and women, different races, different religions – sitting here. You would never see an audience like this anywhere else in the world,” he said.

“That’s the genius of the American Dream,” he said. “You need to see genius, meaning you need to find unity. And if you do that, this country will be fine.”

Nurturing relationships and a culture of caring

By Deborah Hall, 436th Medical Operations Squadron’s Family Advocacy Program outreach manager / Published October 15, 2014

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AFNS) -- When life gets challenging, stressors can build and conflicts can escalate, sometimes leading to abuse. Preventing domestic abuse is fundamental to basic relationship maintenance. Partners in healthy relationships work together every day to nurture their relationship, taking care to address issues and concerns when they occur. Healthy relationships should be safe, respectful and positive.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month across the country and throughout the Department of Defense. Domestic violence is in direct conflict with the culture of dignity and respect fostered by the professional values of the armed forces. Unfortunately, almost 9,000 cases of the more than 18,000 incidents reported to the Family Advocacy Program in 2013 met DOD criteria for domestic abuse or intimate partner violence.

Relationships should be safe. Feeling safe in a relationship, both physically and emotionally, is essential. Individual and family stress can escalate and sometimes lead to domestic abuse. Abuse is never acceptable. Trusting your partner and committing to your relationship completely helps build a safe environment for both of you. "Fighting fair" through the use of nonviolent conflict resolution and being kind to one another are essential ingredients of a safe relationship. Learning to forgive, owning your mistakes, and apologizing also contributes to a healthy bond.

Relationships should be respectful. Respecting your partner is one of the fundamental ways to show love. Trust, mutual respect, and open communication are the foundations of a fulfilling and safe relationship. Healthy relationships must be nurtured and they require motivation, commitment, and ongoing work by both partners. Every couple faces challenges at some point. Working through those problems together in a healthy way can strengthen the relationship.

Relationships should be positive. For you, your partner, and your children -- put effort into your relationships. Supporting your partner and working together as a team toward a common goal contributes to an enjoyable relationship. Encouraging those you love and being a good example for your children pays great dividends. Children learn about relationships by watching the people they know best. Set an example by practicing healthy relationship skills with your partner. Most importantly, enjoy life together!

We all have a role in preventing domestic violence. In our roles as wingmen, military members, military spouses, and DOD civilians, look out for each other and act to promote the safety and well-being of all. Be alert to risk factors for domestic violence, such as: family discord, extreme jealousy, and behavioral health concerns; and encourage early intervention. Being an observant and caring wingman may help a military member preserve their family, health and career.

As a good wingman, how can you help? Good wingmen know that seeking help is a sign of strength. There are a significant number of resources available to Airmen that support healthy, nurturing relationships. By knowing these resources and encouraging your fellow Airmen to seek assistance during times of need, you are creating a wingman culture of caring. We are all members of the Air Force Family -- a relationship to be nourished, resulting in a culture of caring.