Setting record straight on volunteerism

  • Published
  • By Col. Robin E. Fontenot
  • 60th Dental Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Recently, there has been a video making the rounds on social media where Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh is seen stating, "Promotion is not about who volunteers."

He goes on to say that the big Air Force is not driving this, so it must be coming from the units.

"If there are local drivers pushing Airmen to volunteer, we need to stop," he said.

The chief of staff's message has been taken wildly out of context. Like the sound bites that presidential candidates use against their opponents, it is really easy to take a clip and turn it into whatever you want.  Let's take a deeper look at what the CSAF was actually talking about.

On May 21, 2015, Welsh hosted a two-hour town hall with six bases represented on a video teleconference. He addressed the upcoming changes to the Enlisted
Performance Reports, which were being finalized at that time. He detailed his desire to have a true performance-based evaluation system. The previous evaluation system had evolved into a piece of paper that equated to 1 percent of a potential promotee's overall board score. He envisioned a report that was substantial in documenting performance on the job.

A question then came concerning the time we, as an Air Force, were requiring of Airmen. A master sergeant stated, "Our maintainers put in a 12-hour day, then are expected to prepare for their PT test, volunteer, do their off-duty education and now they are being asked to complete 504 hours of online PME, in addition to taking care of their family."

Welsh's reply was to disagree with some things on the master sergeant's list. Referring back to his original comments, he restated, "Promotion is about job performance. Promotion is not about who volunteers the most." He went on to say, "I am looking for an Air Force that values job performance above all things."

Many Airmen have taken the sound bites to heart, claiming, "CSAF said I don't have to volunteer. As long as I do a good job, I will be promoted."

Not exactly, buckaroo. Promotion is still reserved for those who demonstrate an ability to perform in the next-higher grade. Airmen are still graded on the whole person concept outlined in the Little Brown Book (AFI 36-2618). For Airmen, read paragraph 3.1.8. For NCOs, read paragraph 4.1.8. For Airmen, that means there are seven paragraphs prior that lay out the expectations of job performance. For NCOs, the list grows to 17 items. Volunteerism is one part of the total Airman.

Wearing the uniform is not easy. The Air Force asks a lot of every rank. It never gets easier. The rewards are many and varied. One of the greatest rewards comes from the joy and appreciation felt by other Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen when their brothers in arms come to their aid through volunteerism. Don't let a 30-second sound bite deprive you of that reward.