MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Airmen from various units of the 23d Wing participated in the first Flight Leader Course March 13-14, here.
Around 50 individuals attended the course created to cultivate current and future leaders in support of the 23d Wing’s second priority – ‘Develop Courageous Leaders’
“The amount of influence our flight leaders have on the younger airmen is staggering,” said Maj. John Hermoain, 23d Operations Support Squadron senior intelligence officer and course instructor. “It’s crucial we provide them with the necessary tools to be young, agile, ready leaders in today’s complex world. In the past it has been kind of trial by error and this course can help mitigate some of the mistakes or give them the tools to make the right decisions in difficult situations.”
The Flight Leader Course targeted Airmen in the ranks of technical and master sergeant, first and second lieutenant, captain, and civilian employees in leadership positions. The course explored leadership perspective from wing leader, interactive scenarios, and tools and tips for effective management.
“Our intent with this course is to provide current and emerging flight leadership with the tools to be an agile, ready leader at the flight level and beyond,” said Master Sgt. Joseph Lujan, 23d Operations Support Squadron intelligence superintendent and course instructor.
According to Maj. Jeanae Jackson, 23d Medical Operations Squadron family health clinic flight commander, she gained a lot of information in the class that she wished she had when she was first put into a leadership role.
“I just kind of got thrown into it and had to learn through trial by fire,’ she explained. “When people’s lives and careers are on the line, it’s definitely not the way you want to learn. If I had something like this in the past, I could have at least seen a roadmap of what I needed to do and know the resources I could go to and get my questions answered.”
Leadership from various squadrons, groups and civilian personnel shared stories, ideologies and tips on being a leader.
“The excellent tools and tips that I have are just insights from the commanders, superintendents, and people that are in the shoes we are looking to fill,” said Tech. Sgt. Joshua Wood, 23d OSS non-commissioned officer in charge of intel operations. “They are coming down giving their insight and it’s really helping out as far as seeing the way they do it, comparing it with the way I would do it and then kind of finding some middle ground moving forward.
While different leadership can lead to different paths, each member had a similar concept that they shared from the class.
“I would say, for me, that one key takeaway I got was really organizing your time in a way that you know what’s coming so you can then prioritize,” Wood said. “It makes things better because you’re not blind-sided by what’s coming. If you have the expectation set for things ahead of time that you know you need to do, you can spend the rest of your time improving the things that you are already doing.”
Jackson also agreed on how time management is a key component to leadership.
“I would second that,” Jackson said. “When Lt. Col. Ireland [23d OSS commander] spoke yesterday, he provided us some tools for how he organizes not only his day, but his month, and his year. That certainly was really helpful to me because it helped me not be as reactive as a leader, but proactive and really help guide my flight in the way that it needs to go.”
The course provided the current and future leaders information on how to be effective leaders, but it also provided a boost in what some of the students call the most important thing – confidence.
“It helps confirm some of the things that I am doing right,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t just about oh you’re doing all this stuff wrong, but when they talked about this is how to do things, some of those things I am already doing so it’s a confidence builder in that aspect. That I’m on the right track for some and others I need to begin doing.”