MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Airmen from the 23d Civil Engineer Squadron (CES) immersed into multiple career fields within their unit during the ‘A Day in a Life’ program, Aug. 6-10, 2018, here.
The program challenges participating civil engineers to strengthen their synergy by going behind-the-scenes and performing tasks outside their career fields to better understand their counterparts and operations.
“The program quickly allows the Airmen to appreciate and understand what other (civil engineers) bring to the fight,” said Tech Sgt. Edward Burden, 23d CES ‘A Day In A Life’ program administrator. “Bringing these Airmen together starts and builds relationships which bridges communication gaps. By providing Airmen with the program’s firsthand experience, it also allows Airmen to become advocates to people outside the CE community.”
The 23d CES enhances and protects Moody’s infrastructure, flightline, roads and environment. Their mission of proposing, designing and orchestrating the construction and maintenance of structures and facilities presents a variety of operations – tasks that program participants will explore in-depth during the course.
As part of the weeklong events, the participants visited five CE shops and got an opportunity to do everything from spraying wasp’s nests to paving roadways.
“There’s nothing better that getting firsthand experience to understand something and that’s what ‘A Day in a Life’ provides,” said Burden. “There’s a certain element of trust that’s placed on individuals that can advocate for and speak on an issue they’ve took part in trying to perform. The comfort of knowing and understanding what another person’s career field’s daily (grind) and issues are builds trust and compassion among our Airmen.”
For Airman 1st Class Jared King, 23d Civil Engineer Squadron water and fuel system maintenance apprentice, the ability to integrate into his fellow wingmen’s operations was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“It was very exciting to go from seeing the (different career fields) performed to actually doing the job firsthand,” said King. “Being in the squadron, I already knew that every shop had to work together to ensure the base is taken care of but working in a different one each day helped me realize the high level of responsibility that each one holds.”
The 23d CES’s leadership created this program to educate Airmen on the responsibilities of CE as a whole and the scope of maintaining base facilities.
“If any one of our roads or infrastructures becomes vulnerable, it’s puts a work center at a standstill which jeopardizes the mission. If any asset on base is (susceptible) and it needs saving, then that’s what we can do.”
Whether it’s deterring wildlife threats on the flightline or putting out fires, maintaining the nooks and crannies of Moody’s amenities keeps the mission ready.
An extra incentive is the ability to develop better civil engineer professionals and best accommodate their customers after the Airmen complete ‘A Day in a Life.’
“After completing the program, we want the Airmen to talk about their experiences and share their stories,” said Burden. “We encourage them to talk about the relationships they made, the things they did and accomplished and how they felt overall. Whether you hated it or loved it, someone has to live that experience every single day.
“Being able to (fully) appreciate what someone else has to do shines a light on the quality of Airmen in our squadron,” Burden added.