What does the 349th AMW Chief's Group do for you?

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sergeant Michael Delgiacco
  • 349th MXG
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Oh, boy! Here it comes, another chief telling the Airmen how to become a senior noncommissioned officer; telling them to attend the next greatest leadership course; or better yet, wearing those silly chief aprons and cooking tri-tip.

Yes, I will say and do, some of those "chiefly" things. But, I also want to let you know how your 349th Air Mobility Wings Chiefs are working for you.

The Chiefs Group Vision states: All chiefs challenge, build confidence within and coach their Airmen. The three Cs are interconnected, building blocks to help you be more prepared and more confident. As your confidence level increases you are better prepared to take on bigger challenges.

"How are you Chiefs going to do this?" you ask.

First we challenge you by creating a vision, establishing goals, asking provocative questions, which help prepare you for the next big opportunity to excel.

Then, we affirm your talents, reward and recognize your accomplishments. Finally, we train you and develop your skills to the highest level. All this mentoring should instill confidence in every one of you so every junior non-commissioned officer and Airman can have that "Can Do" attitude (have to get that Chief jargon in).

Coaching is all about raising your performance to a higher level. If we create opportunities, demonstrate what great performance looks like, question you again and provide feedback, we've set the example for you to follow, and hopefully exceed. From there you'll take it to the highest levels.

There! I got all that Chief "stuff" out of the way. It's a requirement, I still have to measure my performance, too.

Now, what are your 349th Chiefs doing for you right this moment?

How about those blankety-blank computer-based training modules. Ancillary training is keeping you from getting valuable on-the-job training crammed into your 16 hours of weekend duty. How can you go out and accomplish your job? Good news: we have a team of Chiefs that are working with functional managers to reduce the amount of computer-based training and ground training events.

Then there is the dreaded three word slogan -- Fit-To-Fight! It's here to stay and motivated me to lose 20 pounds! But, twice a year takes even more time away from your duties. We have a proposal drafted that asks for testing once a year at the health and wellness center, and gives commanders the right to give no-notice fit tests throughout the year, if needed.

Our last proposal is a big one. We have started a talking paper that proposes commanders can promote tech sergeants to master at 26 years of service, if they have completed a Community College of the Air Force degree and professional military education, and have wing commander approval. Our goal is to give every deserving Airman the opportunity to lead.

As you know nothing happens overnight, and yes, we secretly like wearing those aprons, we just use cooking as an excuse. Please remember, your 349 AMW chiefs want to help you become a servant leader. We'll work with you, using the three Cs (what are they?) to take all of you to new heights, whatever your goals may be.