MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- To grow as a leader, you sometimes have to go back to your roots or take a walk in someone else’s shoes.
Maxwell Airmen did just that recently when they accompanied the commander of the 42nd Air Base Wing to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, July 27-28, 2017.
Colonel Eric Shafa went to the Texas base to serve as the reviewing official for the basic military training graduation of 746 of the Air Force’s newest Airmen.
“I thought it would be a fantastic professional development opportunity to include some of our Airmen for a ‘re-bluing’ experience,” he said. “The reactions were priceless from several of our young enlisted Airmen as we walked through the very BMT barracks that they lived in when they joined the Air Force not too long ago.”
While there, the group of 18 Maxwell Airmen, which included the wing’s command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Erica Shipp, were given tours and briefings on BMT curriculum, Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills Training, or BEAST, and Airmen’s Week, as well as attending discussions on process changes with developmental special duty, or DSD, assignments.
Going back to where it all began for some of the Maxwell Airmen made quite an impression.
“Overall, the experience was awesome!” said Master Sgt. Ninanona Payongayong, with the wing’s inspector general office. “It was a great opportunity to reflect on my BMT experience. To see the present day BMT is a testament to how much we have evolved as an Air Force.”
Updated facilities and curriculum were not all that impressed the sergeant. She summed up in one word what she brought back to her unit that will help her grow as a leader and Airman: accountability.
“When people think of accountability, they lean toward disciplinary actions,” Payongayong said. “When I think about accountability, I think about holding each other accountable to the goals and aspirations we strive to reach. Sometimes we have to be that wingman, of all ranks, and say, ‘Hey, you’re losing focus on your goals, come back this way.’”
One Maxwell Airman who had never set foot on Lackland’s marching pads before this trip said he was impressed by the dedication and “wingmanship” demonstrated by the training instructors.
“The passion and commitment of the instructors toward the trainees was quite memorable,” said Capt. Joshua Hogeland, the commander of the 42nd Medical Group’s Logistics Medical Flight. “They are examples for others to emulate regarding the concept of a wingman. They are the first wingman that the trainees actually have, and the trainees will not even realize that until later in their careers. It is a special relationship and bond for life.”
Getting a peek behind the scenes and seeing from a different vantage point how military training instructors impact the growth of Airmen made an impression on one Maxwell Airman.
“Not only did this visit plant a seed in the mind of one of our staff sergeants to pursue this [MTI] DSD assignment,” said Shipp, “but it gave our senior noncommissioned officers and company grade officers an understanding of the current BMT format and Airmen’s Week to know what to expect from each new Airman.”
Airmen’s Week, formerly known as Capstone Week, is a post-BMT, pre-graduation time when the trainees learn how to become “Airmen.” The week’s curriculum gives them the answers to the question, “What now, Airman?” and prepares them to live the Air Force core values and to develop a warrior ethos.
That ethos was evident in abundance as 746 for the Air Force’s newest Airmen recited the Airman’s Creed in unison at the graduation parade.
“After each verse, their voices rose to a higher tone,” said Payongayong. “By the last verse, you could hear, feel and see their motivation, fearlessness and pride in being an Airman.”
The trip, said Shafa, was an unequivocal success and exceeded his expectations, from the welcome they received from BMT leadership to the airlift support from the 908th Airlift Wing on Maxwell.
“After seeing firsthand the value added, I’m working with my wing leadership team to see if we can make this opportunity a regular trip a few times a year for the professional development of our Airmen,” he said.