ACC’s newest chiefs descend on Offutt

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Richard Williams
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  More than 100 of Air Combat Command's newest chief master sergeant selects along with their numbered Air Force and major command functional managers braved snow and subzero temperatures to attend the ACC Chief Master Sergeant 2011 Orientation here Jan. 9 - 13.
 
The purpose of the conference is to give ACC's newest chief master sergeants a peek at what is going on within Air Combat Command, said Chief Master Sgt. Martin S. Klukas, ACC command chief, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. "We want to get them spun up and make sure they know what our issues, the good, the bad and the ugly, are across the command."

During the five-day conference, the chief selects are able to interact with the command and numbered Air Force's functional managers from a variety of career fields to gain a better understanding of their role as the top one percent of the enlisted force and the mission and challenges across the board.

"I hope they take away how significant their role is after they put on that final stripe," Chief Klukas said. "With a better understanding of our challenges in Air Combat Command, they are able to go back to their duty stations and articulate these challenges and help to inspire their Airmen to come up with some of the solutions to these problems."

The challenge of balancing mission readiness, operations tempo and budget concerns can be a major concern for a chief and ensuring all are everything is in place Airmen are taken care of can be a daunting task, but it is one the chief selects at this year's conference are ready to face head-on.

"I wanted to learn more about issues facing the Air Force," Senior Master Sgt. Carla Thornton, 55th Wing legal office superintendent, said. "You know what the problems are but sometimes there are different ways to handle them as a chief."

Sergeant Thornton, a Youngstown, Ohio, native, has prided herself throughout her career in trying to know the answers to many of the challenges facing her Airmen, and always being approachable, but there was almost an instant change in her Airmen's perception once she received her line number for chief.

"I don't always have all the answers but I try to," Sergeant Thornton said. "There are ways you can handle things as a chief, and they can be very different from the way you are able to take care of your Airmen even as a senior master sergeant."

"I think one of the biggest things I have learned not only from the chief's orientation but from the other chief's here is that networking is the key," said Chief Master Sgt. Bryan Vibert, manager of integrated defense ACC, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. He said the expertise and experience from the functional managers and other chiefs in attendance are invaluable to helping him guide Airmen.

Chief Klukas, a Coleman, Wisc., native, said the chief's role has significantly changed in his 26 years in the Air Force, "When I came in they seemed unapproachable, that is just the way the business went. Today we are servant leaders and chiefs should embody and exemplify that servant leadership by getting in that operational battle space of their Airmen and make sure they [Airmen] know they can come to the chief."

The opportunity for a chief to lead, mentor and assist in not limited to junior enlisted, added Chief Klukas. It is Airmen with a capital "A," to include noncommissioned and senior noncommissioned officers, and even officers at times.

"As a chief we are mentoring and leading our Airmen them to take our place," Sergeant Thornton said. "And we are getting them ready for their next level of responsibility. That is the biggest thing for me."

Chief Vibert, a Malone, N.Y., native, thinks it is key that chiefs see the bigger picture when preparing their Airmen. "As an Airman you really have blinders on and do not see any of the picture. As you grow through the ranks, the 'big picture' as they call it, whether it is the strategic picture or the Air Force picture gets more vivid and you start to understand it. I hope that is what we take back with us after leaving this conference.

"We need to understand that not every situation is black and white," Chief Vibert said. He added one of the most important things he and his fellow chiefs can do is understand that every situation can be different and melding the personal needs of the Airmen with the needs of the Air Force, and not rushing into decisions hastily is key to being successful.

"I need to have more patience," said Sergeant Thornton. "Just to be able to sit back and breathe and let things happen."

"I think one of the ultimate keys is they [chiefs] must have the intellectual agility in today's ever-changing Air Force to be the most effective leader," Chief Klukas said, "If we can open up their span and knock their blinders off and get them looking at different angles and enhancing their ability to inspire their warriors.

"They need to realize the stripe is not for them, the stripe is due to the hard work of our warriors. Our Airmen make the chiefs, and they are counting on the chief master sergeant to take care of business because the chiefs are there to protect and lead their Airmen and that is big," he added.

"At the end of the day we hope they take away some tools from here that will help them better lead their warriors," Chief Klukas said.