CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
You're probably wondering what insight a captain could give on enlisted supervision. Well I used to be an Airman ... "Basic" to be exact. And it wasn't until I became a supervisor of my own Airmen that I truly understood how hard and important it is.
When I talk about enlisted first line supervisors, I'm mainly speaking of the senior airmen and staff sergeants who take on the arduous task of supervising the brand new tech school graduates. These individuals, in my opinion, are the military equivalent of school teachers; they don't get much respect or pay but have one of the Air Force's most difficult jobs.
Those who supervised me for my four enlisted years said they didn't have a hard time with me. However, knowing what I know now, I wonder how easy it really could have been. After all, I, like many other brand new Airmen, was less than 20 years old, straight out of high school and really didn't know what the "real Air Force" was about.
I can't believe how much my first supervisor, Senior Airman Dawn Phillpot, taught me in so little time. I remember how she had to explain to me the "proper" way to answer a phone -- "what's up" wasn't acceptable, especially when a colonel called. I also remember how Senior Airman Cindy York, who would later become my supervisor, had to teach me how to "take a message" after I left a sticky note with gibberish on her desk after I took one of her important phone calls.
I had to be taught why I was the one who had to take out the recycling every time after I told my boss I felt that someone else should have to do it for a change. I guess I didn't get the clue about where I stood when weeks prior, Master Sgt. Tina Simms, our public affairs superintendent, took me around the headquarters building and introduced me as Airman Basic Moore -- not Airman Moore, but Airman Basic Moore with emphasis on "Basic."
It also took me a while understand why Tech. Sgt. Debbie Aragon, my final enlisted supervisor, pulled me out of my off-duty class to go into work. I couldn't fathom how work was more important than my personal interests -- service before self doesn't come naturally, especially when you're only 20.
I didn't have the opportunity to supervise as a senior airman but now that I have Airmen of my own, I truly understand what these mostly first-time supervisors go through. I now see how much teaching and mentoring my front line supervisors have to go through to produce Airmen who can go out and take care of the mission.
Not only must these supervisors teach "the job" to their Airmen, they must continually work on customs and courtesies, professional development and Air Force core values; the list goes on and on. All this goes on while the supervisor still has to take care of his or her own issues.
The bottom line is the efforts of a first line supervisor often go unnoticed. Their work is often unappreciated. I think we can change that. Everyone, take time out of your day to thank those with these tough jobs. Let them know that without all the time and effort they spend molding their brand new Airmen, we would definitely not be the greatest air, space and cyberspace force the world has ever known.