Hurlburt Field Airman to represent ACC at Phoenix Stripe Conference

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HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  Staff Sgt. Joseph Soldano, 505th Training Squadron intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance instructor, will represent Air Combat Command at Air Mobility Command's Phoenix Stripe Conference Sept. 13 through 17.

ACC is allowed one person to attend the conference, and Sergeant Soldano stood out as the command's top nominee.

"After reviewing Sergeant Soldano's record, it was clearly evident that this high-caliber warrior was the right person for this opportunity," said Col. Edward Shock, ACC Directorate of Manpower, Personnel and Services, chief of services.

Since 1998, Air Mobility Command has sponsored a program aimed at providing a select group of noncommissioned officers additional leadership skills and to show them how they affect the mission. While there are NCO professional enhancement seminars, there is no enlisted professional military education, or PME, between the NCO and Senior NCO Academies. In addition to many other benefits, the Phoenix Stripe conference fills this gap in the NCO PME cycle, according to officials.

Attendance is highly selective and begins with unit commanders nominating only the best candidates who possess exceptional leadership skills, exemplary military bearing and who also meet Air Force physical appearance and fitness standards. The event is considered a milestone event in the professional development of mobility Airmen.

"Initially, I didn't understand how prestigious this program is," Sergeant Soldano said. "It is really an honor to represent ACC. Every time you get to participate in PME or training of this type, it makes you a better NCO. You always take some sort of element from it -- a sense of duty or commitment -- you learn new ways of leading or you think differently about how you go about doing things."

Phoenix Stripe provides attendees with an operational overview of all AMC's Global Reach mission facets, a broad analysis of key issues impacting air mobility and critical insight into each attendee's contribution to the total force air mobility team. One of Phoenix Stripe's major benefits is the feedback participants provide on unit-level operational issues and the feedback they share with their peers when they return to home station.