Reservists go through 44 FG's first NCO leadership course

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Siuta B. Ika
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Eighteen U.S. Air Force Reserve Airmen from the 44th Fighter Group took part in Holloman Air Force Base's first-ever NCO Leadership Development Course for Reservists from April 30 to May 11.

The course aimed to enhance the leadership skills and abilities of the group's front-line supervisors, said Chief Master Sgt. Ralph Goodwater, 44th FG superintendent.

"We had 18 members of the group take the course, which has material similar to what would be in an NCO Academy course," he said. "Because we're Reservists, we can take the majority of our courses by correspondence. This course, however, is in residence only, and covered things like mentoring and report writing, which will help our young staff and technical sergeants be better leaders and supervisors. And for some of them, this is the first time in their career that they actually have attended a formal leadership development-type course."

Although those who attended the entire two-week course received two college credits, the group's NCOs also received something much more rewarding, Goodwater said.

"I think it's brilliant because it allows Reservists to network and get to know each other in a formal academic environment, whereas they would not normally have an opportunity to do that," he said. "They can attend the NCO Academy, but those positions are very competitive on the Reserve side. We often times default to taking it by correspondence, so this is huge for them to be able to attend this course here."

One attendee, Tech. Sgt. Jeanette Blankenship, 44th FG Detachment 1 aviation resource manager, explained another benefit of attending the course.

"I have learned a lot about myself and how I can tie different attributes into becoming a great leader and mentor," she said. "I've also learned different leadership and management techniques from the other individuals in the class. That's what I'll take back to my workplace to make me a better leader."

Goodwater said the Reserve NCOs fortunate enough to attend the course learned skills he didn't get the chance to learn when he was in their shoes.

"I attended an NCO prep course and an NCO leadership school as a Reservist," he said. "This class is more academically involved versus the courses that I went to. I did things like marching, saluting, and properly recognizing ranks of different services. This course goes more into the very foundation of how to mentor and lead a young Airman."

Overall, the course was more than worth attending, Blankenship said.

"This course has been a major eye-opener for me," she said. "It's better that I was able to do this in residence versus by correspondence. I'm a hands-on learner and I like interacting with people, because I got a lot more from this than I would have otherwise. I would recommend this course to all of the group's NCOs, because I now know how to tailor my leadership and mentoring styles to the Airmen I have in my work center. I speak for the rest of my class as well: we've all gotten the same knowledge and learned so much from each other."