Carter: DoD Provides 'Unconditional' Support for 'Lean In Circles'

By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, September 21, 2015 — The Defense Department is providing "unconditional" support for "Lean In Circles," or peer-to-peer mentoring groups, to help in empowering women and to propel them into leadership roles, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said today.

Carter sat in on a Lean In Circle at the Pentagon today with Sheryl Sandberg, the best-selling author of "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead." Sandberg is the founder of LeanIn.Org and the chief operating officer of Facebook.

More than a dozen women of various ranks from  across the services took part in today's circle, including Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, Army Brig. Gen. Patricia Frost, and retired Army Gen. Ann Dunwoody, the first woman in the U.S. military to achieve the rank of four-star general.

DoD Support for Circles

The Defense Department, Carter said, will provide space and time for service members and civilians to participate in the circles. The meetings are voluntary and open to everyone. The secretary added that he highly encourages everyone to "take advantage of DoD spaces made available before, after or during work hours" for these meetings, whether in the Pentagon or around the globe.

The circles are an "investment in our people and our future," he said, explaining that the meetings boost morale and productivity and help to build diverse leadership.

"Our people make us the best; to stay the best, we need to keep up with current trends in talent management," the secretary said. "These circles have a proven record of empowering women throughout our ranks, and giving men a way to lean in also and support their female colleagues and improve themselves."

Women 'Mission Critical' in Military

The participants in today's circle talked about "institutional barriers" in the military, Sandberg said, noting a "leadership gap" that she said exists in every industry in the United States along with an "unconscious bias" in dealing with gender and race.

"Nine percent of our generals are female; less than 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are female," she said. A problem, she added, is that women often are placed in roles, such as support jobs, that are less likely to get promoted into CEO or general officer positions.

"The good news is that we can change this," she said.

Having women in the top roles in the military is "mission critical" in building the force needed to defend the United States and its values around the world, Sandberg said.

The military is the largest employer in the nation, and historically has a leader in social change, Sandberg noted. "If the United States military can get this right, other industries will follow, and today is part of that," she said.

"I have great admiration for the women and men who serve in uniform or are part of the Department of Defense civilians, she said. “I have special admiration for the women, because you fight for equality with every step you take every day you come to work. A more diverse force is a stronger force."

Important Discussions

Frost, the deputy commanding general for operations at U.S. Army Cyber Command, said she holds an informal “fitness group” Lean In Circle. The discussions allow her to hear the challenges and concerns of members and get the "pulse" on some of the things going on in her command, she said.

Having "open conversations" is important in moving women forward in the military, the general said. While the circles give women a chance to talk about their challenges, she added, it also benefits men.

"I think we really have had a success story when it is men and women, and we are discussing how women can mentor men about women," Frost said. "I don't know that men know some of the biases that they have, and I just don't think they see it."

Air Force Master Sgt. Heather Morales, who has a Lean In Circle at the Pentagon, said today's discussions focused on what is holding women back in the military, and some of the things the women were experiencing at their bases or had experienced throughout their careers.

"It's very important to have these discussions, and especially at this level -- to have the secretary of defense and the secretary of the Air Force engaged to solve these issues -- because many of the problems that exist, some are related to biases that people don't even know that they have," she said.

What it means to be a good wingman

by Airman 1st Class Collin Schmidt
341st Missile Wing Public Affairs

9/16/2015 - MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont.  -- Being a good wingman may not always be an easy task. Sometimes, it requires people to go above and beyond what is normally asked of them. For Senior Airman Thaddeus Johnson, 341st Force Support Squadron customer support apprentice, a quick response and the will to go the extra mile in order to help a fellow Airman was exactly what was required of him, and he rose to the challenge.

Midway through a seemingly normal workday, Johnson met with an Airman during a routine appointment to help him take care of some paperwork. It was during this appointment that Johnson noticed the Malmstrom team member display signs of serious stress.

"During our appointment, this Airman had made some comments where I knew he was in need of help," Johnson said. "It was easy to see something was wrong. As I spent more time with him, I knew whatever was troubling him was severe and that he needed a helping hand.

"I had never expected to be put in a situation like this but I am thankful to have been in the right place at the right time," he continued.

After finishing his appointment with the Team Malmstrom member, Johnson exchanged numbers and let the Airman know that he was there to help, that he was not alone in whatever was troubling him.

A short while later, after speaking with leadership on what to do with the situation, Johnson contacted the team member, found where he was and put his work on hold to stay with him until proper care could be provided.

"Being a wingman means that you're there for your fellow Airmen," said Johnson. "On duty, off duty, no matter what; it means to be there when it counts.

"I feel confident knowing that I have someone there who is going to keep me on the right path," he continued. "I know that I have someone there who is going to do the same thing for me that I would do for them.  In this case, an Airman came in who needed assistance and I just offered him the help that would have been given to me by my wingmen."

According to Johnson, we all fall and have our own respective issues that we deal with on a daily basis but it is the way that we handle them and get back up that makes the person.

Offering the help he did was not an extraordinary act, he believes, but just the observance of a fellow Airman in need and the will to act on it.

"You can always get back up from where you've fallen from," Johnson said. "I've been down before, we all have. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. To establish our core values - Integrity first, Service before self and Excellence in all we do - we need each other."

Face of Defense: Airman Finds Calling by Helping Others

By Air Force Senior Airman Adarius Petty, 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing DoD News Features, Defense Media Activity

CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev., September 16, 2015 — Is this the job for me? Did I pick the right career field? Those are questions many airmen ask themselves throughout their Air Force careers.

Air Force Tech Sgt. Noah Stamps, 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing command chief's executive assistant, has firsthand experience with that same situation.

Stamps said he was not always fond of his job. He first joined the Air Force in 2002 as a security forces airman at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota -- an assignment notorious for its challenging winter weather.

"It's Minot, and it gets down to negative 60 degrees in the winter, and as an SF member you would do a lot of outside work," Stamps said. "So when you're out in negative 60-degree weather, and you have to perform with excellence and integrity, those kinds of conditions can test your excellence, integrity and your dedication to service. So being expected to perform in that type of weather, there's nothing easy about that."

Leadership Impressions

Although the climate at his first base was somewhat difficult to endure, Stamps said one of the pros about his first base was his phenomenal leadership who valued morale, promoting the idea of "comprehensive airmen fitness" before it was popularized throughout the service.

He credits having great leaders who valued taking care of their airmen for shaping his future outlook on how he would value his airmen and those around him.

"I'm a firm believer in that if you take care of airmen 100 percent of the time, they will take care of the mission 100 percent of the time with 100 percent of their effort," Stamps said. "If you are focused on the mission and forget about the people, both will suffer."

As he progressed through the ranks, he said the feeling of wanting to make a difference in the Air Force and take care of airmen every day steadily grew. It was at this point in his career, Stamps said, that he decided to apply for retraining.

"I wanted to retrain -- to help airmen in a different way," he said. "I had great mentors who helped with my decision to stay in the Air Force. They got me to realize what my gifts are, what my talents are and where they can be used."

In 2006, a career as a photojournalist seemed to suit Stamps' gifts, but a few months before leaving for technical training, the Air Force merged public affairs and visual information career fields, which reduced the number of airmen in the career field. Stamps said he was once again left wondering what to do next.

Finding His Place

"My next two choices to retrain were to be a firefighter or a chaplain's assistant," he recalls. "Being a new husband and dad left me feeling like a career as a firefighter wasn't for me, so I choose to be a chaplain's assistant. I loved the idea of helping people out in a different capacity."

It wasn't long before the need to discover different ways to make an impact on airmen and their careers pushed Stamps to apply to be an Airman Leadership School professional military education instructor. In September 2009, he joined the ALS team at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

"Teaching PME was a transforming experience for me," he recalls. "My impression of teaching prior to stepping into the classroom was that I would be the one imparting my vast knowledge on a generation of new staff sergeants. The reality is that they had a lot to teach me. I learned more from my students than they did from me."

Stamps said plenty of people tried to discourage him from being an instructor, but he continued to apply for the special duty position until he was eventually picked for the job. He said it taught him a lesson he likes to pass along.

"Always pursue your passion," he said. "There are so many people who join the Air Force and are given an Air Force Specialty Code, given a job. A lot of people grow into loving their job. Some people don't, and if you don't grow into loving what the Air Force has given you, then you needed find something that is going to help you pursue your passion."

Experience Into Wisdom

Stamps said stepping out of his comfort zone proved beneficial to his career development into a noncommissioned officer.

His 13-year career now includes multiple special duty assignments, two AFSC's, three deployments, graduating 22 ALS PME classes and holding a total of four jobs. He said that experience has prepped him to give advice to help other airmen who may be wondering what the Air Force has in store for them as well.

"Sergeant Stamps is full of immense knowledge and has been a key mentor of mine for about a year now," said Air Force Senior Airman Andrew Ingersoll, 432nd WG/432nd AEW executive administration specialist. "His leadership and mentorship have guided me in the right direction, not only with career decisions but also in life decisions."

Impacting the airmen beneath him isn't the only task that Stamps is focused on.

"It is easy to see how Sergeant Stamps' diverse career and breadth of experience has made him such a resilient leader," said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Michael Ditore, the wing's command chief master sergeant. "It is an awesome sight to watch him engage with airmen of all ranks as he provides mentoring, counseling, and many other wingman fundamentals. Noah is an NCO who leads by example and exemplifies our core values of integrity, service, and excellence."

Airman selected for White House Leadership Development Program

By Tech. Sgt. Torri Hendrix, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs Command Information / Published September 15, 2015

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Darbi Dillon, contracting operations division deputy, will represent the Air Force as a member of the first White House Leadership Development Program next month.

The year-long program is geared toward idea sharing and cross-utilization of skillsets to work on the government’s 15 cross-agency priority goals.

“This will give us a government-wide perspective and get support for the president’s priority goals,” Dillon said.

She said she was surprised when she was selected for the job, but happy for the opportunity and the benefits it will bring to the Air Force when she returns.

“They really try to match you with a cross-agency priority to benefit the agency where you’re assigned,” Dillon said. The priority she’s been assigned is the next-generation strategic sourcing category.

According to the website, this priority’s goal is to expand the use of high-quality, high-value strategic sourcing in order to improve the government’s buying power and reduce contract duplication.

Dillon will not only be the Air Force representative working in this group, but also the only Department of Defense member on the team.

Only 10 members were selected across the federal government to participate in the program for its first year, and only three of those members came from the DOD.

“I’m very excited for this opportunity,” Dillon said. “Any time you’re given an opportunity to do your job better, you need to do it.”

20th Air Force Women's Leadership Symposium

by 2nd Lt. Veronica Perez
90th Missile Wing Public Affairs

9/10/2015 - F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- Diversity is an important component of the Air Force. No successful organization can operate by working as individuals. Goals and progress are achieved when individuals come together and work as one team. Airmen strive to make other Airmen better in order to propel the mission to new heights. Empowering female Airmen is an investment in the Air Force team and future.

20th Air Force is leading the way to ensure women continue to bring their mindset and skills to a more diverse Air Force culture. The first-ever 20th Air Force Women's Leadership Symposium is taking place Sept. 14 through 16 at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. Enlisted females (E4-E5) and female officers (O1-O3) selected from the wings and units within 20th AF will have the opportunity to connect with each other and gain insight and knowledge on leadership from various guest speakers.

"Diversity in our Air Force is vital to mission success," said Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein, 20th AF and Task Force 214 commander. "The unique backgrounds and perspectives of all Airmen help us to grow and evolve our combat capability."

Capt. Sandra Walker, Task Force 214 chief of combat assessments and readiness, is the creator and project officer of the event. She was inspired after attending a similar Navy women's symposium in San Diego, California, this past summer.

"It was really inspiring to see that many women in one room," said Walker. "There were hundreds of us and the networking piece was so phenomenal that I really wished 20th AF would hold something like that."

After researching current statistics and data, Walker found that 16 percent of the Air Force is currently female, and the 20th AF is three percent below that average. Additionally, Walker concluded that approximately 54 percent of enlisted females and 89 percent of female officers separate from the Air Force or cross-train into another career field, prior to entering field grade officer or senior non-commissioned officer ranks.

"There are multiple reasons I imagine people decide to get out and separate, and the symposium will provide us with direct feedback and understanding of why," said Walker.

The mission of the symposium is to provide female Airmen professional development through mentorship, education and networking, Walker said. Various guest speakers include leaders within the military and civilian worlds who will discuss important topics ranging from family and career planning to higher education and leadership.

"Empowerment is a cornerstone of the changes we're making in the ICBM mission," said Weinstein.

"But before we can empower junior officers and enlisted we need to coach, train and mentor them," he said. "This leadership symposium for women will grow these Airmen professionally and examine ways in which we can make our mission and our Air Force more inclusive."

Attendees will have the opportunity to sit down and speak candidly with mentors in smaller group sessions to talk about any issues or concerns in their work or personal lives.

"I think knowing that there are people that are like you out there and you're personally getting to know them will make you realize you are not the only one struggling with certain issues," said Walker.

Mentorship is invaluable toward development as leaders, and Walker hopes attendees will make connections that will lead to long-lasting relationships.

"Together we can make a whole lot more happen, especially by encouraging and supporting one another to move forward," she said. "And only together can we increase opportunities, improve policies and achieve the diversity we need to make 20th AF stronger."

Walker spoke very highly of all of the scheduled guest speakers, including Chief Master Sgt. Felica F. Noil, Command Chief Master Sergeant for the 91st Missile Wing, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The variety of guest speakers, like Noil, brings different stories and perspectives to inspire and motivate female Airmen.

"I believe women do need to see other women to empower each other and be able to answer questions outside of their career field and the folks they deal with every day," said Noil. "Hopefully, by what someone hears they'll know, 'I can do that too'."

Staff Sgt. Randee Meyer, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of facilities maintenance team training for the 91st MW, is attending the symposium and hopes to learn from the experiences of speakers and pass on lessons learned as a leader and mentor herself.

"I would just like to hear from these women what they think about being a mentor and a leader in the Air Force, because my career-field doesn't have very many women in it," she said. "I definitely try to keep people in our career field, to keep doing our job and keep them in the Air Force working hard."

Walker and Noil both want attendees to become aware of the resources, options and contacts available to them in terms of making career decisions in the future and to share the information with their home installations.

"Hopefully the attendees can go back to their wings and provide feedback on some level on what they learned, because every person, male or female, can learn from this symposium," said Walker. "Together we strengthen this numbered air force and build future leaders."