How good Airmen go bad
Commentary by Chief Master Sgt. Joe Lavigne
2d Bomb Wing Command Chief Master Sergeant
10/26/2004 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. (AFPN) -- Every time I review a discharge package for a young Airman who went down the wrong path I ask myself how we failed. That’s right, how did we fail? You may think I’m a bit crazy, because after all, it was the Airman who disregarded the standards, not us. It was the Airman who showed up late for work, not us. It was the Airman who chose to blow off the mandatory appointments, not us.
So how did the Airman ever get to the point of being discharged? After all, the Airman made it through basic training. Believe me, basic isn’t the piece of cake it was when we went through it.
The Military Training Instructors are tough. Just ask one of the first sergeants who accompanied me to Warrior Week a few months back. The regimen is strict. The trainees (they don’t earn the privilege of being called Airmen until they graduate from Warrior Week) are up at 0430, take part in physical training six days a week and work hard right up until the lights go out at night.
After earning their Airman’s Coin during a very emotional Warrior Week graduation ceremony, the Airmen finish up week six in basic and head off to technical school. Granted, the reigns are loosened up a bit when they leave Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, but they are still held to a high standard and they have to be pretty sharp to pass the academic portion of their respective tech school.
Finally, the Airmen arrive at their first duty assignment. Maybe they are lucky enough to have a sponsor appointed before they arrive. Maybe their sponsor actually meets them (in uniform) at the airport, and maybe their sponsor takes the time to sit them down and go over the standards and expectations before turning them loose. Maybe not.
Here’s how the scenario usually plays out. The sponsor shows up at the airport in shorts and a tee shirt. It’s easy to spot “their troop” because our Airman shows up proudly wearing a service dress uniform. The sponsor walks over to Airman Newbie and introduces himself. “Bob (that’s Airman Newbie’s first name), I’m Dave (what the sponsor meant to say was Staff Sergeant Jones). Welcome to your new home!”
After the gathering of Airman Newbie’s luggage comes the long ride to base during which Dave explains to Bob how terrible things are. After all, there are countless exercises and inspections, deployments, long hours due to many folks being deployed and not a whole lot for this 18-year-old to do off duty.
Then, Dave drops Bob off at the dorm where the first person he runs into is Airman Dirtbag, who is being discharged for minor disciplinary actions. Naturally, Airman Dirtbag is the resident barracks lawyer and personnelist, and he proceeds to give Airman Newbie the “real story” about the base.
The next day, Airman Newbie finds his way to his work center where his sponsor, Staff Sergeant Jones, is proudly wearing his new designer sunglasses with the fluorescent orange logo emblazoned on the frame.
“Dave” introduces “Bob” to everyone in the work center, and after some in-processing actions they all head off base in their BDUs for lunch at a nice sit-down restaurant. Airman Newbie seems confused, because there are a lot of civilians in business attire, and he remembers being told that BDUs should only be worn off base for short convenience stops or to fast food restaurants and establishments where similar attire is worn. No worries, because according to his sponsor, this is the “real Air Force” and Airman Newbie needs to forget all that stuff he was taught up until this point in his short, yet structured, career.
If this seems far-fetched to you, wake up! It happens every day, and that is where we fail our young Airmen. So, how do we fix this problem?
First, start our troops off on the right foot. Be a great sponsor to them; help them get settled into their new surroundings; turn challenges into opportunities. In other words, meet them at the airport in uniform; let them know they are part of the best and busiest organization in the world. Tell them that although they will be extremely busy, they will be contributing to an organization that has been rated Excellent and Outstanding, and that we need them to give 100 percent effort if we hope to maintain those ratings.
Next, adopt the motto used at many technical training centers: “Train ‘em right, train to fight.” In other words, set your troops up for success, not failure. Ensure they understand their role in the upgrade training process; make sure they know who to contact if they are having trouble understanding; surround them with successful Airmen. Follow up on their progress.
Third, lead by example. Ensure you are in compliance with dress and appearance standards; run a brush over your boots; replace the “world tour” t-shirt you wear with your BDUs with an authorized one; comply with the spirit and intent of Air Force instructions. Make sure you are living up to the roles and responsibilities for your current grade as they are outlined in Air Force Instruction 36-2618, the Enlisted Force Structure.
Finally, help them understand they are Airmen 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. That means 100 percent compliance with standards 100 percent of the time, not just when they are at their work center.
If, after all this, one of your Airmen still doesn’t get it, then help him or her out the gate and back into civilian life. You can do so with your head held high, knowing you were the solution to his or her problems, not a part of the problems. |
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