Reservists renew their blue at Airmen's Weekend

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Andria J. Allmond
  • 512th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  While some of the Airmen wore one stripe on their sleeve, others displayed a stack of five. Although coming from different backgrounds, all would experience an event designed to rekindle and retain the pride and esprit de corps most felt when first entering the military.

The year's Airmen's Weekend, themed "Past, Present and Marching Toward our Future," occurred during the September unit training assembly here, Sept. 11-12, 2010.

Approximately 50 enlisted reservists took part in the event geared toward preparing first-term Airmen for leadership roles while "re-blueing" those participants with a few re-enlistments under their belts.

"At first I didn't want to be here, but after hearing some of the speakers, I started to really enjoy and appreciate the information we were receiving," Tech. Sgt. Justin Beegle, 512th Maintenance Squadron jet mechanic, said of the affair. "I would really consider sending my troops to this next year. The information and the kind of re-blueing that they're doing here could be invaluable to fast-burning senior airmen and new staff sergeants."

The weekend kicked off with a visit from Women Airforce Service Pilot Elaine Danforth Harmon. Mrs. Harmon spoke to attendees about her experience as one of the first female pilots in the U.S. military, before opening the floor for a question-and-answer period.

"I thought it was great seeing our history in front of us by having a WASP right here," said Staff Sgt. Chris Panico, 512th Civil Engineer Squadron electrician. "Not a lot of people get an opportunity like that."

Since Airmen's Weekend fell on the 9/11 anniversary, the 512th Airlift Wing's head chaplain, Chaplain (Maj.) Barry Ball, led the group in a moment of silence and self-reflection. The subject shifted from chaplain to chief when the group received a personal visit from Command Chief Master Sgt. Dwight D. Badgett, Chief Master Sergeant for Air Force Reserve Command.

On hand was Bronze Star and Air Force Combat Action Medal-recipient Tech. Sgt. Stephen Kaufman, a 512th Airlift Wing explosive ordnance disposal technician, who gave a lesson on combat leadership.

The first day's final event was a chief's panel. Consisting of five Liberty Wing chief master sergeants, the panel interacted with the audience by answering questions before turning the tables and firing their own inquiries at the Airmen.

"When else do you get the chance to talk to a bunch of chiefs like this," asked Sergeant Panico. "So, not only are we surrounded by Airmen with different (Air Force Specialty Codes) that we're learning from, we're also able to learn from those with lots of experience in how to advance our careers."

On the second day, the serene scene in the room was rocked by three former Air Force military training instructors who used their basic military training background to transport the enlisted entourage back to their Air Force roots.

Former TIs, currently stationed at Dover, conducted an open ranks inspection and drill instruction before marching the flight down the base's rain-speckled roads.

"They did surprisingly well," said Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Bushaw, 736th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron support section. "They stayed together for the march, which I didn't expect, since a lot of them probably haven't marched in a long time."

The acting TIs said they were also impressed in how well the group took the "friendly" verbal corrections during open ranks and are interested in being a part of Airmen's Weekend next year.

"I would do it again," said Master Sgt. Brent Warren of the 436th Aerial Port Squadron. "But, I would've liked to have had more time to go over drill and ceremony, since that's what they are going to use more."

The enlisted assembly rounded out their schedule through education, financial management and physical fitness briefings before the weekend's conclusion.

With the Airmen recounting their Airmen's Weekend experiences as they left, Airmen's Weekend committee members felt the mission of reinvigorating the diverse servicemembers was complete.

"Our goal was to re-energize these Airmen with whatever it was that made them enlist in the first place," said Senior Master Sgt. James McGarvey, a 512th Security Forces Squadron member who has been on the Airmen's Weekend planning committee since the event began here three years ago. "We wanted to prepare them and get them excited about serving, since they are the future of this military branch. Overall, I can say the event was a success."

With this year's group of Airmen "re-blued," the job of continuing this tradition for next year has already begun.

Sergeant McGarvey said, "We'll take what we learned from this year and try to continue with what was effective and improve in areas we may have fallen short. It takes time to put something like this together, and we're already planning to make next year's Airmen's Weekend even better."

By the end of the weekend, some Airmen walked away "re-blued," some walked away more informed and some walked away inspired. But, in the end, they all left Airmen's Weekend with something they didn't have before attending.