Squadron commander confesses rookie mistake

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Jay Johnson
  • 921st Contingency Response Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Having just reached one year in command, I have to confess, I wish I could start over.

The squadron was in great shape when I took the reins and we continue to excel at the Contingency Response mission, but I can't help but think about how much more effective I could have been for the Airmen in my first year had I been better prepared. As I look back at the months I spent preparing to take command, I wish I had spent less time on the philosophical and more time on the practical.

While I was prepared with a vision for the squadron and had a solid list of things I wanted to accomplish during command, I wasn't fully prepared for some of the more practical issues I would face. I offer the following thoughts in hopes they'll help another member of our Air Force family be better prepared for whatever leadership role they may find themselves in. 

First and foremost, I confess I did not spend enough time learning the intricacies of the enlisted promotion, evaluation and assignment systems. While I knew where to go to get information on each, my working knowledge was weak. I realize you could write a novel on each of these systems, but being able to speak to promotion eligibility cutoff dates, weighted Airman promotion system testing cycles, senior rater endorsement eligibility, base of preference options and developmental special duty assignments are essential to mentoring and leading Airmen. I'm fortunate to have a talented senior enlisted manager in Senior Master Sgt. Lucas Buchholz.

Senior makes sure I'm educated on all of these subjects and while not everyone has this luxury, it does not alleviate leaders from the responsibility of having a working knowledge of each.

I also confess I didn't take enough time to educate myself on personnel systems like base level service delivery model, assignment management system, personnel records display application and the case management system. While the Air Mobility Command Squadron Commanders Course introduces these systems there is no hands-on time and you must be able to navigate these systems from day one.  Our squadron personnelist, Tech. Sgt. Rebecca Smith, has taken the time to educate me on these systems. Again, I realize not everyone has this luxury.  Leaders at every level need to have a working knowledge of how to access and interpret the valuable information contained within each of these systems.

The final piece of this puzzle is to be able to interpret and organize information from all of these systems and use it to provide honest feedback and mentor our Airman, which is easier said than done.  With 19 different Air Force specialty codes in the squadron, I rely heavily on first-line supervisors and functional managers to help me ensure we're using the right career pyramid and getting Airmen the training and experience they need to progress in their career field. It is very much an art backed by accurate information provided by the systems mentioned above. 

My recommendation to anyone preparing to step into a leadership role - find a chief enlisted manager, senior enlisted manager, flight commander, flight chief, first sergeant, a personnelist and spend a significant amount of time learning about these tools. You owe it to yourself and our Airmen.