Staff Sgt. 'Joe' sets precedent for Airman's career

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. David O'Hara
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Remembering back, I entered the Air Force in August 1987. Raise your hand if you weren't born yet.

Like everyone else, I spent my time in Basic Military Training followed by technical school prior to heading off to my first duty station. It was during my time at tech school that I received my first assignment.

I was assigned to Zweibruken Air Base, Germany. Raise your hand if you've never heard of it. I was married at the time, so I went forward with making the travel arrangements for myself and my spouse. Although I felt like the blind leading the blind, I was somehow able to get us to our Port of Call on time.

We landed at Germany's Rhein Main Air Base--raise your hand if you've never been there--and there to meet us was, well, I'll call him Staff Sgt. Joe. He was there to pick us up, in his privately owned vehicle, and drove us to our duty location. This staff sergeant ensured my little family was lodged in billeting, ensured we were in-processed appropriately and even helped us find a rental apartment.

I looked up to Staff Sgt. Joe. I thought he was the most qualified NCO in my Air Force Specialty Code and to me he was the highest ranking Airmen I ever needed to see. I wanted to grow up to be Staff Sgt. Joe. He was my mentor, supervisor, my leader. He counseled me when needed and gave me a pat on the back when warranted.

He was not my friend. He was my leader and he did a great job. Please note, I'm talking about a staff sergeant, not a master sergeant, not a chief, but a staff sergeant. This was the person for me to follow, the NCO I wanted to emulate. Sure, we had senior master sergeants and chiefs, but they were too far separated from me.

However, I knew one day I could become Staff Sgt. Joe, so he was my mentor.

Today I see lots of higher ranks within the enlisted force doing the mentoring of our E-1 through E-4s and I think they're eliminating an incredibly valuable talent pool. I believe staff sergeants today can be and often are looked up to by their Airmen the way I looked up to Staff Sgt. Joe. These leaders are the demographic that has the ear of our E-1 thru E-4 force.

When I speak to a group of our young Airmen, I think they listen, but sometimes I'm not sure how effectively, especially when I start to talk about things like safety, DUIs and being on-duty 24/7/365. I wonder if I start to sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. I think sometimes I do. However, I believe if I could get their immediate supervisor, the staff sergeant they work directly for, to make the pitch, my target audience may actually listen and hear what is being conveyed.

Our staff sergeants can be the most influential leaders in our Force if we will empower them to do just that, lead their people. Staff sergeants are the backbone of our service.
Without the staff sergeant, our missions would fail. They are the leader on the ground executing the mission, and leading our youngest Airmen.

So to the chief and leaders of all ranks, I'm asking you to empower your junior NCOs.

Teach them how to become leaders and mentors, not friends. Then allow them to lead their people. Allow them to make a mistake. I know I made a few, they'll learn from them. If we do their job for them, they'll never learn anything at all and then who do we have leading our youngest generation? These are intelligent, educated Airmen. They will do a great job if given the chance. So delegate, hold them accountable, responsible and reward them for their successes. They'll become a better leader for our future and our jobs will be easier if they are doing theirs.

I don't really know what became of Staff Sgt. Joe. He separated in the mid '90s with the Force Management programs of that era. But I hope he's doing great and sleeps well at night. He did a great job raising me up through the first four ranks and I still use some of the supervision techniques he taught me to this day. Finally, for all the young staff sergeants today, I hope you can one day become at least one young Airman's Staff Sgt. Joe. Happy New Year. Carry on.