Commentary: Preparing Airmen, Air Force for future

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. William T. Wild III
  • 512th Airlift Wing Command Chief Master Sergeant
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  As I wrap up my first year as your command chief, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for making the Liberty Wing one of the best in the Air Force. At this time of year, there's rarely a day that goes by that I don't read about one of our Airmen who, or squadrons that, are being recognized with an award for their hard work and dedication. We live each and every day following the vision of our command: "One Air Force, Same Fight, An Unrivaled Wingman." 

Our command and the Air Force are evolving as it prepares for the future. Last month, at the Air Force Reserve Command Chiefs' Summit in Atlanta, several of our chiefs and I were given an opportunity to see the future of the Air Force and the role AFRC will play in the future. 

Team Dover and the Air Mobility Command have recognized the associate program as a successful Total Force concept for years. This associate program will be growing by leaps and bounds throughout the Air Force. All AF commands will be looking at the example set by bases like ours, which has proven time and again that this type of relationship between active duty, reservists and civilians delivers the best product to our many and varied customers. We have already seen the formation of an active-duty associate wing using Reserve owned aircraft as well as the creation of a Guard, Reserve associate program. 

Seeing the future of our Air Force got me thinking about our future and where we are headed as a wing and as Airmen. Over the past few months, we have seen a number of senior leaders retire or move on. With this departure, we lose years of experience, leadership and mentorship for our young Airmen. 

So now, I pose a couple of questions. Have you trained your replacement? Has your replacement been training their replacement? We owe it to the future generations of Airmen to have been given the highest level of training possible and the career progression opportunities to prepare them for the next stage of their career. I'm not just talking about a supervisor checking a career development course for completion, but supervisors mentoring Airmen. 

For example, have lunch together and talk with them and help them plan their future. As a mentor, we should encourage them to attend the NCO and Senior NCO Academy in residence. Encourage them to belong to base organizations. Show them how to write an award package, a performance report and how to track their accomplishments. I believe we tend to spend too much time at our computers and not nearly enough time talking with our Airmen about their future. 

With a full calendar of wing events, including several inspections, now is the perfect time to secure our success by training your replacement and having your replacement train theirs. So, when it comes time for you to begin a new chapter in your life or career, you leave with confidence knowing that the future of our wing and our Air Force will be bright.