New Emerge Moody innovation develops leaders

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Greg Nash
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs

Kicking off a new leadership development program, 20 Airmen from various career fields began a nine-month journey to better understand Moody’s mission during Emerge Moody, Oct. 6, here.

Candidates from the rank of E-3 to E-6, and Company Grade Officers, applied for the program and were selected after an interview process. After earning their way into the ranks of this program, students will have the opportunity to converse with peers and leaders from other units while getting behind-the-scenes tours of these missions they haven’t seen before.

“We’re excited about giving Moody’s Airmen a chance to develop into courageous leaders,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Cynthia Kearley, 23d Wing staff judge advocate. “Emerge Moody will provide students a monthly [curriculum] of different mission assets. By familiarizing themselves with other missions and how it intertwines with their own jobs, the students have a better chance of understanding the overall mission.”

In order to fulfill this understanding, students are slated to receive in-depth exposure to units involved with combat rescue, base defense, law enforcement and mission support. On the first stop, the class was introduced to the A-10C Thunderbolt II maintenance mission while touring the 23d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

During the tour, students participated in a roll call, checked out tools and equipment, and received deployment and historical maintenance briefings. For several students, however, partnering with maintainers to get a hands-on approach on the flight line made them feel a part of the 23d AMXS.

“Getting into the [A-10C Thunderbolt II] cockpit and inspecting an aircraft in preparation for a launch was a great experience,” said Tech. Sgt. Netasha Hutto-Harris, 23d Medical Support Squadron NCO in charge of medical evaluations board. “It’s completely different from working in the medical field where everything has to be sterile. Here, I actually enjoyed having to go outside and get my hands dirty like a maintainer.”

For one prior student, taking back lessons learned from these experiences to his work center was a primary reason why he wanted to join the program.

“With the day-to-day operations, it’s easy to lose sight of how you [impact] the mission outside of your realm,” said U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Joseph Fraser, 23d Communications Squadron officer in charge of client service center. “It’s good that we have the chance to exchange ideas about what we do and how we relate to one another. It makes you appreciative of their mission and yours, and it’s important to relay the knowledge you learned back to you coworkers.”

According to Kearley, challenging the students to build their base network and articulate critical roles of each unit to their own units is a major objective of the course. She says the goal is to help students become knowledgeable, understanding and empathetic of other work centers. By doing this, Airmen can appreciate what each job provides and it allows them to communicate how they directly affect the mission and the vital part each organization plays.

 “This initiative enhances Airmen’s ability to accomplish three of [23d Wing commander, Col. Thomas Kunkel’s] priorities of developing courageous leaders, taking care of Airmen and their families and preparing for tomorrow. Emerge Moody is designed to accomplish that and we’re excited for what’s in store for the class until they graduate. We also hope other installations can utilize this program to strengthen the Air Force,” said Kearley.