JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Airman Leadership School students at the Binnicker Professional Military Education Center are expanding their knowledge of helping agencies to increase their effectiveness as supervisors.
As Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright briefed earlier this year at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, the job of an Airman will only get tougher and the requirement to be more resilient will be even more important than in previous years.
“I don’t look out a year or two or three from now and see less missions,” Wright said. “I see more deployments to Europe. I see more deployments to Africa. I see continued deployments to the Middle East, and I also see, at some point, some deployments to the Pacific.”
Units throughout Pacific Air Forces are incorporating helping agency visits into ALS to equip leaders across the command with the tools necessary to support fellow Airmen.
ALS curriculum now includes a walking tour of all helping agencies, allowing students to learn about the services each agency offers and meet the professionals taking care of Airmen and their families.
“Last year, PACAF lost a total of six Airmen,” said Chief Master Sergeant Anthony Johnson, PACAF command chief. “In my book, one Airman is too many and although we cannot change what happened to them, we can expose our Airmen to these agencies early. This will allow them to be more resilient in the face of challenge and minimize harm to the rest of our Airmen.”
On the tour, professionals at each helping agency will give short presentations on how they take care of Airmen and families. Helping agencies provide a wide range of support throughout base communities, including medical services, legal counsel and substance abuse intervention.
According to Master Sgt. Tonya Poole, 17th Operational Weather Squadron first sergeant, a significant detail about the ALS helping agency tour is that the event is open to Airmen and their spouses.
“This is good for our supervisors, but it’s also helpful for spouses because issues with Airmen and families don’t always show up in the workplace,” Poole said. “Spouses may see things outside of work which they can address now that they’re more familiar with helping agencies.”
Service members at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam can inquire about helping agency services by contacting the JBPHH Military & Family Support Center at 474-1999.