HRDC develops Airmen

  • Published
  • By Col. David K. Berkowitz
  • 512th AW Public Affairs
In our abbreviation filled world of the Air Force Reserve, one you may have seen is HRDC, also known as the Human Resources Development Council. One of the roles of HRDC is implicit in its name: to assist in the personal and professional development of our Airmen.

What may not be obvious is HRDC goes beyond developing Airmen professionally; it is equally concerned with their emotional and spiritual well-being. The goal of the 512th Airlift Wing's HRDC program is to realize the needs of our Airmen and then create and expose them to opportunities in the wing, the Air Force Reserve and the civilian sector, enabling them to grow as military professionals and Citizen Airmen.

The council is comprised of a myriad of wing members, some from key organizations, the rest representing each wing unit. The council's focus is to identify and provide services to meet almost any need our Airmen may have in order to help them develop as professionals; and, ultimately, enable them to maintain a high state of readiness throughout their Air Force careers.

HRDC accomplishes this by identifying the organizations, which provide services to our Airmen, and making sure they are available when needed. Organizations such as Airman and Family Readiness, Education and Training, Chaplain, Inspector General, Equal Opportunity and Public Affairs, provides a large portion of these services. They are grouped into three categories: out-reach, in-reach and developmental opportunities.

Outreach involves how the wing develops relationships with and provides service and support to people or groups outside of our wing through programs like Honorary Commanders, Employer Support and tours.

In-reach and developmental opportunities is where we focus on you, the Airmen of the 512th AW. Examples of in-reach programs are Top 3 membership, Company Grade Officer's Council, Airman's Weekend, Yellow Ribbon, chaplain events and the wing awards program.

Developmental opportunities include training and education programs, Air Force Reserve Command-sponsored HRDC conferences, such as Tuskegee Airman, League of United Latin American Citizens, Women in Aviation, and locally offered writing classes for resumes and performance reports.

HRDC is evolving. The council is seeking new ways to deliver HRDC opportunities to wing members. We are doing this by making enhancements in three areas: increasing awareness of HRDC programs, expanding relationships with each unit and by always focusing our efforts on meeting the needs of our customers, the Airmen of this wing. Here are some details:

- Raising awareness. We are developing an HRDC Enterprise Information Management homepage, accessible by selecting the HRDC tab on the wing EIM site. In a few months, the page will be populated with information on a variety of programs, including descriptions, points of contacts and their availability. There will also be a calendar, which will display scheduled HRDC events. The aim is to have HRDC programs and assistance to be a mouse click away.

- Expanding relationships. The council will be increasing communication with each unit. Not only will unit representatives be charged to deliver HRDC information to their members, they will also be tasked to continually poll their Airmen to find out what their needs are. Regular meetings will be scheduled with unit leaders, enabling them to discuss what the needs of their Airmen are with the council. Additionally, the council will provide unit leaders feedback on which services HRDC has been delivering to the Airmen of the wing. Open, two-way communication with the units is vital to the council's effectiveness.

- Focusing on Airmen. The council is committed to serving you. However, we cannot do it without your inputs. We will continually be fighting for feedback from unit representatives, supervisors, commanders and directly from each Airman to make sure we provide the right services. We need your involvement to ensure we do not operate in a vacuum.

The wing's HRDC will constantly strive to identify what support our Airmen need to grow and prosper. Once identified, the council will endeavor to ensure programs and opportunities are available to help our Airmen develop personally and professionally throughout their AF career. With your feedback, we can achieve our goal.