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PME crossing international borders

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nathan Allen
  • 15th Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM, Hawaii --  Master Sgt. Clete Toensing, 15th Wing Professional Military Education Center director of operations, received a unique professional development opportunity when he was selected as part of the 13th Air Force's professional development initiative to forge relationships with partner nations and build professional development opportunities for Airmen.

As both a student and evaluator of the Royal New Zealand Air Force's Flight Sergeant Promotion course, Sergeant Toensing solidified this professional educational relationship and laid the groundwork for recognizing the FSP course as a deliberate professional development opportunity for Airmen. No other exchange of this kind has ever been made between the U.S. and New Zealand militaries.

As PME director of operations, Sergeant Toensing found the experience to be extremely valuable and benefited greatly from their teaching methods.

"Their leadership model revolves around what they call 'emotional intelligence,'" he said. "You can't lead others until you can lead yourself. It's about figuring out yourself, and then having 'relationship leadership' with your subordinates."

"Their instructor staff is so passionate about it and their students really believe in being able to change their air force," Sergeant Toensing said. "It's the most I've ever learned from PME."

As someone who is very familiar with PME, Sergeant Toensing said the relaxed nature of the Royal New Zealand's Air Force as well as having multiple instructors in each classroom helped create an effective learning environment.

"They do things the same way, but it's a much more relaxed learning environment so I think it's easier to learn, plus they have multiple instructors [in each class]," he said in comparison to having 4 individual flight chiefs in the U.S. Air Force PME system. "The students are going to get the same information, but they will get four different examples. [In New Zealand] there wasn't as much of a separation between staff and students."
Sergeant Toensing said the opportunity to learn and train alongside the "Kiwis," a nickname members of the New Zealand military have given themselves in honor of their national bird, is extremely valuable. The friendships made and the information gained from one another can be useful as allied forces work together in missions all around the world.

"Whether it was LOAC or anything else, the question was always 'how would the U.S. do it,'" he said. "Some of them have been deployed with us. Just being able to learn and appreciate the missions that they're going through and what they add to the defense of the world...to be able to bridge that gap, whether I'm going back to my shop or going to deploy I would find it easy to work with the 'Kiwis' in the future."

Sergeant Toensing suspected he might be required to perform the Royal New Zealand Air Force's operational fitness test during the course which consists of push-ups and a timed 5k march with 45 pound rucksacks containing a helmet, flak jacket, 120 rounds of ammunition, webbing, 1.5 liters of water and a first aid kit among other things. To prepare, his 9-year-old son Jack would play the role of physical training leader. Jack made Sergeant Toensing ride a bike with a back pack full of bricks and perform push-ups and sit-ups.

"[Jack] was quite a good PTL," he said. "I tried to get somewhat ready for it in case I had to perform it during class with a couple marches here and there to get used to it, but I did not have to as they do not administer it."

Outside of the classroom, Sergeant Toensing identified his participation in a "loyal toast," a tradition they perform in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, at a dining in as one of his most memorable experiences.

"The chief of the mess at the end of the evening toasted the president of the United
States and had me toast the queen," Sergeant Toensing said. "Everybody was so respectful and friendly toward me."

Chief Master Sgt. David Williamson, 13th AF command chief, said that Sergeant Toensing's involvement in the course is a positive step toward interoperability.

"It's a great professional development opportunity for one of our SNCO's," he said. "The value in fostering enduring relationships, building capacity and promoting interoperability in today's uncertain environment and on tomorrow's battlefields cannot be understated."