WEBVTT 00:01.700 --> 00:03.756 It's important for any member of the 00:03.756 --> 00:05.978 air force to feel empowered to know the 00:05.978 --> 00:05.889 purpose . The purpose gives them a 00:05.900 --> 00:08.067 reason to be here . It makes them want 00:08.067 --> 00:10.178 to be part of the mission and what we 00:10.178 --> 00:12.400 do , if it becomes just a job to them , 00:12.400 --> 00:14.400 then they're not really committed . 00:14.400 --> 00:14.270 They're not gonna put 100% in . They're 00:14.279 --> 00:16.223 not gonna give you what you need . 00:16.223 --> 00:18.168 That's one of the biggest things a 00:18.168 --> 00:20.335 leader can do is always give their and 00:20.335 --> 00:22.501 their purpose . I'm Lieutenant Colonel 00:22.501 --> 00:24.612 Christian Leighton and I'm the 10 2nd 00:24.612 --> 00:26.779 civil engineering squadron commander . 00:26.779 --> 00:28.835 I am senior master sergeant , Calvin 00:28.835 --> 00:31.001 Melvin , the senior enlisted leader of 00:31.001 --> 00:30.670 the 10 2nd civil engineering squadron . 00:30.879 --> 00:33.310 I'd like to instruct all of our airmen 00:33.319 --> 00:35.979 on how critical their role is to the 00:35.990 --> 00:38.212 mission . It's really important so that 00:38.212 --> 00:40.323 the airmen understand why we're doing 00:40.323 --> 00:42.490 what we do and they need to understand 00:42.490 --> 00:44.712 the big picture . And a lot of times we 00:44.712 --> 00:46.934 kind of can lose sight of that . What I 00:46.934 --> 00:49.159 try to do every drill morning is give 00:49.169 --> 00:51.058 our own civil engineering current 00:51.058 --> 00:53.349 intelligence world brief . So what we 00:53.360 --> 00:55.770 try to focus on is what's going on with 00:55.779 --> 00:57.890 our allies , what's going on with the 00:57.890 --> 01:00.049 emerging threats , our near peer 01:00.060 --> 01:02.189 competitors ? What is the State 01:02.200 --> 01:04.200 department ? What's our diplomacy ? 01:04.200 --> 01:06.422 What are they looking at ? And how does 01:06.422 --> 01:08.589 that relate to the military ? And then 01:08.589 --> 01:10.533 we tie that back to what does that 01:10.533 --> 01:12.422 relate to the air force and civil 01:12.422 --> 01:14.644 engineering ? And that goes all the way 01:14.644 --> 01:14.430 from the strategic , all the way down 01:14.440 --> 01:16.607 to the tactical level . And that right 01:16.607 --> 01:19.620 there helps give our airmen a big 01:19.629 --> 01:22.269 understanding of why they come in for 01:22.279 --> 01:24.446 drill , why they do their training and 01:24.446 --> 01:27.099 what they're being prepared to do when 01:27.110 --> 01:29.290 we deploy and how they can make an 01:29.300 --> 01:31.910 impact in our overall national defense . 01:32.589 --> 01:34.589 Um The air really get into that and 01:34.589 --> 01:36.700 there's a lot of questions asked , it 01:36.700 --> 01:38.645 makes great communication back and 01:38.645 --> 01:38.449 forth and that's how we start our drill 01:38.459 --> 01:40.570 off . Every drill is to give them the 01:40.570 --> 01:42.570 reason why we're here and that just 01:42.570 --> 01:44.459 starts the drill off in the right 01:44.459 --> 01:46.626 direction . The threats on the horizon 01:46.626 --> 01:48.681 is really important for them to know 01:48.681 --> 01:50.737 and also to know how important civil 01:50.737 --> 01:52.570 engineering is . It's absolutely 01:52.570 --> 01:54.792 critical , especially for an air base , 01:54.792 --> 01:56.792 especially in a deployed location . 01:56.839 --> 01:59.006 Often it's in an austere environment . 01:59.006 --> 02:01.006 And civil engineering really is the 02:01.006 --> 02:03.550 backbone of the mission at an air base . 02:03.559 --> 02:05.839 The real nucleus is that airfield and 02:05.849 --> 02:08.089 without that airfield , those uh those 02:08.100 --> 02:11.509 aircraft are are useless . So without 02:11.520 --> 02:13.809 our airmen doing our jobs and their 02:13.820 --> 02:17.520 jobs , um the air force cannot meet its 02:17.529 --> 02:19.860 mission for air superiority and bring 02:19.869 --> 02:21.990 in air power to , to the fight . So 02:22.000 --> 02:24.167 it's absolutely critical that everyone 02:24.167 --> 02:26.399 understands how their tasks , their 02:26.410 --> 02:29.740 daily task really results into mission 02:29.750 --> 02:32.100 success . And we really , we really 02:32.110 --> 02:35.190 foster that environment . I am Tech 02:35.199 --> 02:37.729 Sergeant Victor Klinsky . I am the 02:37.740 --> 02:41.050 structure supervisor at the 10 2nd . Ce 02:41.309 --> 02:43.559 you get a sense of belonging and you 02:43.570 --> 02:47.160 get a second family out here , you get 02:47.169 --> 02:50.130 to work every day on some projects that 02:50.139 --> 02:52.580 at first you're looking at of , why are 02:52.589 --> 02:55.070 they so tedious ? Why am I doing this ? 02:55.139 --> 02:57.250 And then when you really get a chance 02:57.250 --> 02:59.028 to deploy , go out TV . Y or do 02:59.028 --> 03:01.139 something else , you start to realize 03:01.139 --> 03:03.199 your little project that you did the 03:03.210 --> 03:05.580 other day plays a huge role somewhere 03:05.589 --> 03:08.100 down the line . One of the ways that we 03:08.110 --> 03:10.619 like to empower our is uh to give them 03:10.630 --> 03:13.059 all a voice . I met Sergeant Sean 03:13.070 --> 03:15.270 Kerrigan and I'm the first sergeant at 03:15.279 --> 03:17.335 the Otis Air National Guard Base for 03:17.335 --> 03:19.460 Civil Engineering . Uh We like to use 03:19.470 --> 03:21.500 open communication with everyone . 03:21.550 --> 03:23.717 Makes our airmen really feel like they 03:23.717 --> 03:25.883 mean something to the unit so they can 03:25.883 --> 03:28.106 come to me with any issues that they're 03:28.106 --> 03:27.979 having as the first sergeant . But they 03:27.990 --> 03:30.046 also go to our other senior enlisted 03:30.046 --> 03:32.101 leaders and they go to their , their 03:32.101 --> 03:34.268 supervisors , they have problems , but 03:34.268 --> 03:36.490 it really makes everyone feel close and 03:36.490 --> 03:38.601 it makes our airmen feel like uh that 03:38.601 --> 03:38.320 that , that we're looking out for them , 03:38.600 --> 03:40.830 it makes them feel like they belong and 03:40.839 --> 03:42.950 it makes them want to stay then , you 03:42.950 --> 03:45.061 know , it's , it's more like a family 03:45.061 --> 03:47.172 here than a job . So when airmen show 03:47.172 --> 03:49.061 up on a drill weekend , they're , 03:49.061 --> 03:51.117 they're happy to show up , it brings 03:51.117 --> 03:53.283 something else to the table other than 03:53.283 --> 03:55.450 just the work that we do . Uh , one of 03:55.450 --> 03:54.669 the things that we found very 03:54.679 --> 03:57.289 successful is to empowering our airmen , 03:57.300 --> 03:59.779 giving them a voice . I have met with 03:59.789 --> 04:01.900 the airmen . What I do is I have them 04:01.900 --> 04:04.122 come up with the three things that they 04:04.122 --> 04:06.178 like the best about the squadron and 04:06.178 --> 04:08.233 three things that they would like to 04:08.233 --> 04:10.345 see fixed or changed that right there 04:10.345 --> 04:12.400 really gives me a road map on things 04:12.400 --> 04:12.205 that I should take a look at . And when 04:12.214 --> 04:15.104 I do address some of those changes , it 04:15.115 --> 04:17.059 really is a direct impact from the 04:17.059 --> 04:19.282 airmen . And they can see , hey , man , 04:19.282 --> 04:21.448 that commander just listened to me and 04:21.448 --> 04:23.448 made a change based on the airman's 04:23.448 --> 04:25.337 recommendations . We also push an 04:25.337 --> 04:27.504 environment where a lot of the answers 04:27.504 --> 04:29.559 come from the lower levels . They're 04:29.559 --> 04:32.154 the experts at their craft and we rely 04:32.165 --> 04:34.565 on them to do their jobs and , and we 04:34.575 --> 04:36.408 listen to them and we make those 04:36.408 --> 04:38.131 changes based on some of their 04:38.131 --> 04:40.242 recommendations . A lot of times when 04:40.242 --> 04:42.297 we talk about empowering airmen , we 04:42.297 --> 04:44.353 think about just the airmen , but it 04:44.353 --> 04:46.408 actually encompasses everyone in the 04:46.408 --> 04:48.631 Air Force . We also need to think about 04:48.631 --> 04:50.797 our NC OS , our senior NC OS . So when 04:50.797 --> 04:52.797 I sit down and do an AC A , I don't 04:52.797 --> 04:54.908 just sit there and take the AC A form 04:54.908 --> 04:54.690 real quick and go through that . It 04:54.700 --> 04:56.756 takes me probably at least an hour , 04:56.756 --> 04:58.867 hour and a half . And I sit down with 04:58.867 --> 05:00.700 them . I talk about the national 05:00.700 --> 05:02.811 defense strategy , how it pertains to 05:02.811 --> 05:05.033 the Air Force strategy . I pull out the 05:05.033 --> 05:07.089 enlisted force development blueprint 05:07.089 --> 05:09.311 and it walks you right through from day 05:09.311 --> 05:08.954 one , all the way up to becoming a 05:08.964 --> 05:11.020 chief and how that all works . And I 05:11.020 --> 05:13.186 try to tie that into each individual's 05:13.186 --> 05:15.242 career . Um I sit down with them , I 05:15.242 --> 05:17.186 talk about their career where they 05:17.186 --> 05:19.353 wanna go , what they wanna do . I talk 05:19.353 --> 05:18.779 about courses that they should be 05:18.790 --> 05:21.000 taking and I actually take the time to 05:21.010 --> 05:23.066 get to know them . I even get to the 05:23.066 --> 05:25.232 point where I look at all their points 05:25.232 --> 05:25.019 and help them through and make sure 05:25.029 --> 05:27.196 they have all that stuff counted for . 05:27.196 --> 05:29.196 I really take the time to show them 05:29.196 --> 05:31.418 that I care about where their career is 05:31.418 --> 05:31.230 going and how that's working . But I 05:31.239 --> 05:33.350 try to teach them and show them a lot 05:33.350 --> 05:35.572 of stuff along the way so they can then 05:35.572 --> 05:37.795 empower their airmen so they know where 05:37.795 --> 05:40.072 they're going and what they need to do . 05:40.072 --> 05:39.989 And that really empowers them to keep 05:40.000 --> 05:41.833 their career moving in the right 05:41.833 --> 05:43.778 direction . We've also seen , uh , 05:43.778 --> 05:46.079 senior airmen staff sergeants where 05:46.089 --> 05:47.811 we've brought them up from the 05:47.811 --> 05:49.922 beginnings of their careers . They're 05:49.922 --> 05:49.910 going out , they're getting their 05:49.920 --> 05:51.976 electrical degree , they're becoming 05:51.976 --> 05:54.142 plumbers on the outside . Uh , they're 05:54.142 --> 05:56.198 bettering their outside lives . Um , 05:56.198 --> 05:58.309 and I think a lot of their confidence 05:58.309 --> 06:00.531 comes from their military careers , you 06:00.531 --> 06:02.809 know , from being in civil engineering , 06:02.809 --> 06:04.864 the big things at ce that we do . We 06:04.864 --> 06:07.087 try to , any training that we have , we 06:07.087 --> 06:08.864 try to have the airmen lead the 06:08.864 --> 06:10.976 training as much as we possibly can . 06:10.976 --> 06:10.910 That way they're getting the experience 06:10.920 --> 06:12.920 of going out learning , finding the 06:12.920 --> 06:15.142 information and they're going to get up 06:15.142 --> 06:17.364 front and brief it , it makes them feel 06:17.364 --> 06:17.089 empowered because they're the ones that 06:17.100 --> 06:19.156 are now responsible for training and 06:19.156 --> 06:21.378 it's not just always the same people up 06:21.378 --> 06:23.544 front talking . So being in ce there's 06:23.544 --> 06:25.711 obviously always work that needs to be 06:25.711 --> 06:27.767 done around the base . We try to get 06:27.767 --> 06:27.760 the members out working and when we 06:27.769 --> 06:29.980 have jobs to do , our younger airmen 06:29.989 --> 06:32.100 are usually leading those while we're 06:32.100 --> 06:34.322 here doing all the administrative stuff 06:34.322 --> 06:36.211 running the squad and the younger 06:36.211 --> 06:38.100 senior airmen , staff sergeants , 06:38.100 --> 06:37.200 they're the ones out running the 06:37.209 --> 06:39.376 project and they like that . They like 06:39.376 --> 06:41.598 to be the ones in charge . They have to 06:41.598 --> 06:43.765 come back and give us briefings , tell 06:43.765 --> 06:43.244 us where they're at , tell us what they 06:43.255 --> 06:45.311 need and they have full power to run 06:45.311 --> 06:47.325 that project , how they see fit and 06:47.334 --> 06:49.445 that makes such a big difference . It 06:49.445 --> 06:51.445 makes them feel like they're really 06:51.445 --> 06:51.244 part of the squad and they're making 06:51.255 --> 06:53.422 things happen and they see the results 06:53.422 --> 06:55.588 of what they're doing . A good example 06:55.588 --> 06:58.109 is last year we deployed to Montana 06:58.119 --> 07:00.600 where we worked on a large project at 07:00.609 --> 07:03.549 the Blackfoot Indian reservation . And 07:03.559 --> 07:07.320 there we were tasked to work on a 7000 07:07.329 --> 07:09.989 square foot senior living facility . We 07:10.000 --> 07:12.222 actually put a staff sergeant in charge 07:12.222 --> 07:14.333 of the overall project . We knew they 07:14.333 --> 07:16.556 had the skills and we let him take that 07:16.556 --> 07:18.600 and run with it , organize and get 07:18.609 --> 07:21.299 after it , not only empowers the airmen 07:21.309 --> 07:23.739 who get to take on the responsibility 07:23.750 --> 07:25.694 of the project , it also shows the 07:25.694 --> 07:27.806 other airman maybe a senior airman or 07:27.806 --> 07:29.917 another staff sergeant that they will 07:29.917 --> 07:31.972 also have that opportunity in future 07:31.972 --> 07:34.194 projects and that they in a environment 07:34.194 --> 07:36.417 that wants them to succeed and wants to 07:36.417 --> 07:38.472 give them that opportunity that also 07:38.472 --> 07:40.194 builds trust and trust is very 07:40.194 --> 07:41.861 important . It shows that the 07:41.861 --> 07:43.917 leadership has a lot of trust in the 07:43.917 --> 07:46.083 junior airmen to tackle these projects 07:46.083 --> 07:48.194 and that we have full faith and trust 07:48.194 --> 07:50.250 in their abilities and how to manage 07:50.250 --> 07:50.170 when they're out there . They own that 07:50.179 --> 07:52.401 project . They're very proud to work on 07:52.401 --> 07:54.623 the project . So they're really working 07:54.623 --> 07:56.735 hard , does more than just gives them 07:56.735 --> 07:58.735 their purpose or empowers them . It 07:58.735 --> 08:00.457 makes it so they have trust in 08:00.457 --> 08:02.623 themselves and they feel like they can 08:02.623 --> 08:01.989 go get things accomplished . They don't 08:02.000 --> 08:04.056 always have to look to leadership to 08:04.056 --> 08:06.111 tell them what to do . They take the 08:06.111 --> 08:07.889 next steps they move forward in 08:07.889 --> 08:07.649 projects , they get things done on 08:07.660 --> 08:09.700 their own . It helps to improve the 08:09.709 --> 08:11.820 quality of what they do . It helps to 08:11.820 --> 08:13.820 get projects done faster . Um We've 08:13.820 --> 08:15.987 seen a lot of strides in just how much 08:15.987 --> 08:18.209 work we can get done on a drill weekend 08:18.209 --> 08:20.320 and that's a huge impact to the daily 08:20.320 --> 08:22.542 operations of the whole wing . It helps 08:22.542 --> 08:24.790 every asset of what ce does . I am . 08:24.799 --> 08:27.429 Staff Sergeant Trenton Terra with the 08:27.440 --> 08:30.119 heavy equipment shop for the 10 2nd 08:30.220 --> 08:31.998 civil engineering squadron . My 08:31.998 --> 08:34.220 leadership , they set us up for success 08:34.220 --> 08:35.998 by setting us up with the right 08:35.998 --> 08:38.330 material tools and things we need . If 08:38.340 --> 08:41.150 any issues occur , they jump to it . We 08:41.159 --> 08:43.510 adapt very well and it's because of 08:43.520 --> 08:45.869 them at the top , our leadership does 08:45.880 --> 08:48.309 trust us to get the job done and it's 08:48.320 --> 08:50.431 important for them to let us work out 08:50.431 --> 08:52.760 here on our own . So if we mess up , we 08:52.770 --> 08:54.950 learn how to fix our mistakes or we 08:54.960 --> 08:57.182 learn what goes wrong for the next time 08:57.182 --> 08:59.238 so we can perform the job flawlessly 08:59.460 --> 09:01.460 those projects we do . There are no 09:01.460 --> 09:03.840 real challenges that we can't tackle 09:03.849 --> 09:06.429 and handle ourselves inside the unit by 09:06.440 --> 09:09.039 putting our brains together or talking 09:09.049 --> 09:11.160 amongst each other with the different 09:11.160 --> 09:13.382 shops . We all work as one big family . 09:13.382 --> 09:15.327 So even if it's something that one 09:15.330 --> 09:17.441 particular shop can't handle on their 09:17.441 --> 09:19.663 own . We can always call in our friends 09:19.663 --> 09:21.886 and family members from the other shops 09:21.886 --> 09:24.309 to come help us out in any situation . 09:24.320 --> 09:26.542 You want somebody that's gonna have you 09:26.542 --> 09:28.653 back and it's always gonna be there . 09:28.653 --> 09:30.876 I'm Sergeant , um , Jose . Um , I'm the 09:30.876 --> 09:32.876 morale community coordinator , uh , 09:32.876 --> 09:35.109 from the 10 2nd sea . We arrange 09:35.119 --> 09:37.260 activities and events for everyone in 09:37.270 --> 09:39.390 our , in our squadron to try to build 09:39.400 --> 09:42.059 something that we can have fun and bond 09:42.070 --> 09:43.792 with . The morale community is 09:43.792 --> 09:45.959 important to our squadron because we , 09:45.959 --> 09:47.959 you know , we haven't had in a long 09:47.959 --> 09:50.181 time and we see people coming and going 09:50.181 --> 09:52.403 and we want to have people feel more at 09:52.403 --> 09:54.514 home with , with just the simple fact 09:54.514 --> 09:56.459 of being a wingman , senior master 09:56.459 --> 09:58.514 sergeant , Calvin Melvin , um is the 09:58.514 --> 10:00.681 one that said , hey , I want us to get 10:00.681 --> 10:03.510 closer . What can we do ? Um And then 10:03.520 --> 10:05.353 he said , I want , we , we gotta 10:05.353 --> 10:07.576 establish a morale committee and that's 10:07.576 --> 10:09.576 how that started . You know , I , I 10:09.576 --> 10:11.576 gotta give it up to our colonel and 10:11.576 --> 10:13.631 senior Melvin because our colonel is 10:13.631 --> 10:15.798 the one that started this in Montana . 10:15.798 --> 10:18.020 He wanted this , this bonding time . He 10:18.020 --> 10:20.353 wanted this , he wanted us to be closer . 10:20.353 --> 10:22.464 And um I'm seeing that now . So I , I 10:22.464 --> 10:24.798 just , I really appreciate the squadron . 10:24.798 --> 10:27.020 I don't see myself ever leaving because 10:27.020 --> 10:29.030 of how much we've united within the 10:29.039 --> 10:32.179 past year . We're doing a hike . We are 10:32.190 --> 10:35.530 going to hike as a squadron mount and 10:35.539 --> 10:37.559 we are also tying in some training 10:37.570 --> 10:39.626 goals . Uh We're gonna be working on 10:39.626 --> 10:41.890 our convoy operations . We're gonna do 10:41.900 --> 10:43.956 T Turp C on the mountain and then do 10:43.956 --> 10:46.122 some , some land navigation . So , but 10:46.122 --> 10:48.344 what's really important about that hike 10:48.344 --> 10:50.344 is that we get out and we all do it 10:50.344 --> 10:52.567 together so that when we all get to the 10:52.567 --> 10:54.456 summit and we can take some great 10:54.456 --> 10:56.344 squadron photos with our guide on 10:56.344 --> 10:58.511 something that all the airmen can look 10:58.511 --> 10:58.010 down and , and look around and just be 10:58.020 --> 11:00.076 proud of their accomplishments , you 11:00.076 --> 11:02.187 know , the physical accomplishment of 11:02.187 --> 11:04.520 climbing that mountain and getting down . 11:04.520 --> 11:04.059 And I really think that will be one of 11:04.070 --> 11:06.126 those moments that you look back and 11:06.126 --> 11:07.959 it's just building that squadron 11:07.959 --> 11:09.903 camaraderie , that unit cohesion , 11:09.903 --> 11:12.126 which is so critical , it really is for 11:12.126 --> 11:14.348 a squadron so that you can lean on each 11:14.348 --> 11:16.403 other for support during a six month 11:16.403 --> 11:18.626 deployment , lean on doing the jobs and 11:18.626 --> 11:18.590 just getting through the day to day . 11:18.599 --> 11:20.377 It's , it's really critical for 11:20.377 --> 11:22.377 squadrons to have that within the , 11:22.377 --> 11:24.321 within the unit . My name is Staff 11:24.321 --> 11:26.377 Sergeant Sean Ken . I'm with the one 11:26.377 --> 11:28.599 second civil engineering structure shop 11:28.599 --> 11:30.543 as far as getting ready to go down 11:30.543 --> 11:32.543 range . That's always as a squadron 11:32.543 --> 11:34.543 because we have the same tasks . So 11:34.543 --> 11:36.377 it's important that we do our TC 11:36.377 --> 11:38.266 training together . We do weapons 11:38.266 --> 11:40.488 training together and that requires the 11:40.488 --> 11:42.488 whole squadron to come together . I 11:42.488 --> 11:44.543 don't know , if every really is that 11:44.543 --> 11:46.599 cohesive . I think a lot of shops do 11:46.599 --> 11:48.766 work apart from each other . They will 11:48.766 --> 11:50.766 come together at times . Um , but I 11:50.766 --> 11:52.932 think you'll see , as you're observing 11:52.932 --> 11:55.239 ce , we sit together like glue over the 11:55.250 --> 11:57.361 last couple of years as commander , I 11:57.361 --> 11:59.639 couldn't be more proud of the squadron . 11:59.639 --> 12:01.861 They've really accomplished quite a bit 12:01.861 --> 12:01.380 in the couple of years that I've been 12:01.390 --> 12:03.719 here and I'm really proud of each and 12:03.729 --> 12:07.570 every one of them from the top of the 12:07.590 --> 12:09.701 one second civil engineering squadron 12:09.739 --> 12:13.369 sees the summit . Yeah .