Airmen applaud AMC's PHOENIX STRIPE conference

Published April 27, 2009
By Headquarters AMC Public Affairs
Headquarters AMC Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Junior noncommissioned officers and civilians from around the Air Force participated in Air Mobility Command's PHOENIX STRIPE program here April 13-17.

PHOENIX STRIPE is a highly selective professional development conference for junior noncommissioned officers and mid-grade civilians recommended by their respective wing commanders.

The program is hosted by the commander of Air Mobility Command and gives participants an overview of the command's mission, as well as direct access to its most senior leaders.

General Arthur Lichte, AMC commander, launched the conference by sharing the command perspective and encouraging audience members to share stories of their unit missions with friends and families back home.

"I need you go back to your communities and tell them what you do ... tell them what your challenges are ... tell them why a new tanker is the Air Force's top acquisition priority," said the general.

General Lichte spent more than an hour providing information about the state of the command and fielding a wide variety of questions from attendees. It's this kind of interaction that some participants found to be most valuable.

"The most surprising thing about this week was watching general officers interact with junior NCOs; and how passionate they were about the message and the job they're doing and also their genuine concern for building us as leaders of the future," said Staff Sgt. Robert Gray from the 60th Maintenance Squadron at Travis AFB, Calif.

Senior officers from various AMC directorates briefed AMC history and specific mission details while two chief master sergeants served as class mentors. The chiefs facilitated daily discussions covering the book, "Lincoln on Leadership," while illustrating the lessons with personal experiences.

"The most important thing I learned was to be courageous and to use that courage to make a difference for others," said Staff Sgt. Cassandra Carter from the, 934th Airlift Wing at, Minneapolis AFB, Minn. "We can impact their success," she added.

The class was also treated to a special session about body language, taught by one of the nation's leading experts on the topic, Jan Hargrave, who provided body language analysis during the Scott Peterson trial.

"Before this class, I was so way off the chart with what I thought I knew about body language," said Sergeant Carter.

Attendees also toured the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center, where they saw how mobility missions are tasked and tracked throughout the world.

"We now have a better understanding of AMC priorities and all the work that's going into those priorities via the different directorates," said Tech. Sgt. Paul Carter, from the Air Force Reserve Command at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. "It was a great opportunity to understand all the different items AMC is focused on and the overarching themes of the airframes we need out there."