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Developing tomorrow’s mobility leaders

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Amber R. Kelly-Herard
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  More than 150 total-force Airmen met in conjunction with the Airlift Tanker Association Symposium Nov. 1-4 for professional development of select company grade and noncommissioned officers.

The program called "High Flight" (for captains) and "Phoenix Stripe" (for noncommissioned officers) has been meeting since the mid-'80s and late '90s respectively. This year, they met with a few new twists including being able to attend multiple command, control and strategy developmental conferences beyond the program's normal scope.

Attending these additional mobility conferences in person allowed them to not only engage directly with senior leaders, but also to interact with peers and become better oriented with air mobility missions and operations.

"These conferences are a deliberate force development tool," said Chief Master Sgt. Todd Petzel, Phoenix Stripe mentor. "This was an excellent opportunity for the selected active duty, Guard, Reserve and civilians who are proven performers to hear successful senior officer and enlisted leaders discuss how to help expand their leadership aperture."

Some of the senior leaders providing mentorship were Gen. Ray Johns, AMC commander, Lt. Gen. Robert Allardice, AMC vice commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Andy Kaiser, AMC command chief. Johns, Allardice and Kaiser interacted directly with Airmen during both developmental seminars.

"This is a great opportunity for us to interact with young captains and NCOs," said Allardice. "These conferences have also been a learning experience for leaders, since we get to hear issues about different units straight from the Airmen who work these issues every day."

Because the two programs culminated at the symposium, there were unique opportunities for even more contact with senior leaders.

Maj. Gen. Rowayne Schatz, AMC Strategic Plans, Requirements and Programs director, chaired a senior leader discussion panel open to all symposium attendees and also part of Phoenix Stripe's mandatory curriculum. The panel discussed key aspects of command and control of Mobility Air Forces while fielding questions from attending Airmen.

"These conferences aren't passive; this is an opportunity to exchange information," said Mr. James Domina, AMC special actions officer. "This also provides a rare chance for captains and NCO's to interact directly with senior leaders."

Four hours of the conferences were intentionally dedicated for attendees to engage specifically with senior leaders. There were also several opportunities for attendees to further engage with their peers and leaders during socials and meals.

"The brief that Chief Master Sgt. Petzel gave on enlisted promotion and development was very beneficial to enlisted members," said Tech. Sgt. Krystal Tokarz, AMC Intelligence Unit Support noncommissioned officer-in-charge, who attended the Phoenix Stripe event. "I felt everything was relevant, and it was also great to meet all of the NCOs face-to-face."

"This was great exposure to the command," said Maj. David Garon, AMC joint mobility fellow. "It created a two-way feedback as participants briefed current issues they were working in their areas and senior leaders expressed their thoughts."

Chief Master Sgt. Billie Black, Phoenix Stripe mentor, said meeting people from various air mobility backgrounds and hearing from Airmen at various leadership levels are essential in developing future leaders for the Mobility Air Forces.

"These Airmen were able to see the tactical, operational and strategic perspectives and how they all work together in a big picture, helping them be more productive, motivated and a better developed force," said Petzel.

This year, participants began preparing for both conferences more than a month prior. They were required to read the book "Lincoln on Leadership", write a 500-word paper about leadership issues, view online talks dedicated to the service of others and attend computer-based "direct connect online" meetings.

"We leveraged technology combined with other efforts across the command to have the lowest financial impact possible," said Garon. "The 'homework assignments' ahead of the conference helped us reduce the length of the conference while allowing the command to gain insight on the thoughts and concerns of the young leaders at the wing level."

A MilBook site was also created for participants, including Allardice and Kaiser, to continue engagement now that the conferences are over. Direct feedback from all the Airmen was sought to help improve next year's development conference.