CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Last week, I had the awesome privilege of handing out 22 sets of staff sergeant stripes in the 437th Maintenance Squadron.
As I spoke to my new staff sergeant selects, I told each of them this was the most important stripe they would get. The Air Force has trusted them to become leaders and the staff sergeant is the most important leader, because they literally have direct influence on the lives of our Airmen. We talked about how their junior-ranking peers would now be looking up to them to set the example - which means they are in the "fish bowl" just like the chief master sergeant and squadron commander.
During the base promotion ceremony, new staff sergeants are charged with:
- Ensuring personnel and resources under their control are effectively used
- Remaining alert to detecting adverse morale trends and initiating corrective action within your control, providing appropriate feedback to superiors
- Maintaining the highest level of communication and rapport with subordinates, remaining attuned to their needs, being ever-mindful the key is empathy, not apathy
- Actively encouraging and motivating both on- and off-duty involvement in unit and base activities by leading the way
- Ensuring people are treated fairly by all agencies and activities, both on- and off-base, and initiating corrective action in any instance which violates this principle
- Always wearing the uniform properly and ensuring compliance from subordinates
- A personal responsibility to take advantage of on- and off-duty educational programs which will enhance your professional development in preparation to assume increased leadership responsibilities in your quest to attain higher NCO grades and with presenting an image of competence, integrity, and pride - the image of a professional NCO.
I think it's great we "charge" our new NCOs to do these things, but really this is just a ceremonial way of saying just do the right thing.
Be the example. It's not about you; it's about the Air Force mission. Wear your uniform properly, polish your black boots, if you still wear them, and don't wear the black t-shirt from the rock concert you went to with your uniform. If you wear white socks with your uniform, wear black or tan ones over them so the white doesn't show - in other words, follow Air Force Instructions.
Stop to salute the wing commander's car and the flag during revile and retreat. Do you have to jump in your blazing hot car to wait for the music to end? Or better yet, in the alcoves of your building so you can mass exodus when the music ends?
Stand out there, pop a salute and reflect on why you wear this uniform with U.S. Air Force taped across the left pocket. Hundreds of thousands of people have died for that flag and does it really hurt you to stand out there for a couple minutes of your life?
Know your job and do your job. If you have issue with something you are asked to do, watch where you complain. Direct your comments to your supervisor, not to your subordinates. Do your job by the book, all the time, and don't take shortcuts (especially in my career field, because you could kill someone). Stop others from doing things incorrectly. I promise you, they will respect you for slowing them down to pay attention to something before somebody gets hurt. It's not about you, Joe Snuffy telling them to do something; it's about Staff Sgt. Snuffy telling them.
Don't say, "Because the commander, chief master sergeant, captain, flight chief, section chief, etc., said so."
Say, "Because this is the way we're going to do it," and maybe explain why (for example - because the mission demands it). You're an NCO, so be a leader.
Finally, I close with encouraging you to know your people, including the hard to supervise ones. You now need to separate yourselves from your old buddies and make new NCO friends. You are now NCOs, an authority given by commissioned officers to be leaders. You are sergeants, which means one who serves. I'm pretty sure you all volunteered to serve, so put your whole heart into serving, and congratulations again to all the new staff sergeant selects.