US Air Force: AFD-061113-101

Vol. 66, No. 25Thursday, June 29, 2006Keesler Air Force BaseBiloxi, Mississippi

Develop America’s Airmen today ... for tomorrow

I

NSIDE

C

OMMENTARY

Inspiring others,

2

T

RAININGAND

E

DUCATION

Bird’s-eye view,

4

New top Dark Knight,

7

N

EWSAND

F

EATURES

81st CS wins award,

8

“Katrina baby” thrives,

14

Following his dream,

16

Right people, place, time,

17

S

PORTS AND

R

ECREATION

Softball playoffs set,

21

Bowler on brink,

22

S

ECTIONS

Commentary.....................

2

Training and education.

4-7

News and features.....

8-20

Sports and recreation...

21-22

Digest.....................

23-25

Classifieds......................

27

Happenings...............

A1-4

Dragons deployed —56

Keesler News on Web:http://www.keesler.af.mil

This week in the Triangle

Student numbers

Total students — 3,880Non-prior service — 2,224Temporary duty — 1,639Combat controllers — 17Non-prior service arrivals — 142Guard, Reserve —1,055International —27Fiscal 2006 graduates — 17,639Total since 1942 — 2,225,711

Computernetworking cryptographic, 10 a.m. today, Bryan Hall.Ground radio communications, 10 a.m. today, Jones Hall.Communications officernetwork, 11 a.m. today, Stennis Hall.Network administration applications, 11 a.m. today, Stennis Hall.Certificate authority workstation-system administrator, 11 a.m. today, StennisHall.Airtraffic control, 8 a.m. Friday, Cody Hall.Weatherforecaster, 10 a.m. Friday, weathertraining complex.Communications-computersystems control, 10 a.m. Friday, Thomson Hall.

May Honor Flight

Keesler 1, ‘Hurricane Michael‘ 0

By Susan Griggs

Keesler News staff

Keesler passed the first testof its response to weatherthreats last week during thefirst hurricane exercise sinceHurricane Katrina slammedthe base Aug. 29.The scenario kicked off June 15 as fictional TropicalStorm Michael formed off thecoast of Jamaica with 40 mphwinds.By the time Keesler per-sonnel showed up for work June 19, Michael had beenupgraded to a Category 3 hur-ricane with 115 mph winds,sending the base into hurri-cane condition 4, which sig-nals a storm’s expected arrivalwithin 72 hours.The exercise progressed toHURCON 3 June 20 as Mi-chael strengthened to Cat-egory 4 with 138 mph winds.According to the scenario,Michael was expected tomake landfall along theMississippi and Louisianacoast. However, the hurricanemade a turn on June 21 andveered away from Keesler.The exercise was terminatedJune 22.“All organizations per-formed well and showed theyare prepared,” said SeniorMaster Sgt. Patrick Cava-naugh, exercise evaluationteam superintendent.Last week was the firstphysical exercise of any kindfor the 81st Training Wingsince Hurricane Katrina, ac-cording to Sergeant Cava-naugh.“Keesler had been grantedan exercise waiver thatexpired May 31,” SergeantCavanaugh explained. “Thescenario was designed toexercise the capabilities of our personnel to respond toincreased hurricane condi-tions. Although the exercisehurricane turned away fromKeesler and the Gulf Coast,we were able to demonstratethat we are ready if a storm

Photo by Kemberly Groue

Tech. Sgt. Thomas O’Connell, 81st Training SupportSquadron, left, scans Staff Sgt. Priscilla Hall’s identifica-tion card at the Dolan Hall shelter June 22. Sergeant Hallis in the 81st Surgical Operations Squadron.

Please see

Exercise,

Page 9

Base passes first test of plansince slammed by Katrina

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C

OMMENTARY

A

CTION

L

INE

...

377-4357

By Brig. Gen. Paul Capasso

81st Training Wing commander

First, try to work concerns through the proper chain of com-mand. When you’ve exhausted this recourse, turn to the com-mander’s action line for assistance.We welcome any suggestions to help make this a more valu-able and useful tool. You may call the commander’s action line at377-4357, write to Commander’s Action Line, 81 TRW/PA, KeeslerAFB, MS 39534-2603, e-mail 81 TRWCommander’s Action Line(on-base) or commanders.line@keesler.af.mil (off-base). For a per-sonal response, include your name, address and phone number.Items of general interest may appear in this column.

Use words, ideas, actionsto inspire others — not rank

By Col. Daniel Ciechanowski

91st Operations Group commander

MINOTAir Force Base, N.D. — Yoursupervisor comes into the office and demandsthat you have Airman Jones’enlisted perform-ance report finished by close of business “orelse!”So, you do as you’re told. It’s not yourbest effort, but at least the boss will be off your back.Months later, your new supervisor tells youhe really wants you to finish Airman Smith’sEPR today. He explains that he attended lastmonth’s senior airman below-the-zone promo-tion board and watched a great Airman loseout on early promotion because of a missingEPR. He knows the next board will happensoon and says Airman Smith has reallyimpressed him. He offers to help you preparethe EPR.Who would you prefer to work for, Boss 1or Boss 2?The answer seems obvious. While thereare times when immediate action is required, Ibelieve we use rank and direct orders as acrutch too frequently in lieu of more effectivemeans of communication.Let’s dissect the approach used by Boss 2.He employed four techniques that make upwhat professor David Gergen, author of Eyewitness to Power, calls the art of success-ful persuasion:

Credibility that assures —

What gives theboss credibility in this case? First, the AirForce granted him authority by naming himyour boss. Additionally, he’s served on pro-motion boards and has acquired inside knowl-edge of the process.When combined, these elements attest tohis credibility and assure the subordinate. Yetthe most important ways a supervisor can earntrust aren’t based on rank. Technical knowl-edge and personal proficiency give his subor-dinates a reason to takehim seriously.Developing trust and confidence is essential if he wants to be effective.

Empathy that bonds —

The boss usesempathy next to demonstrate the impact of not getting the EPR done on time. He tugs atyour emotions. Does it bother you that some-one lost out on early promotion because anEPR wasn’t done on time? How would youfeel if this happened to you?Be careful not to overuse empathy. Youcan only play on heartstrings so many times,but when used very sparingly, empathy can beeffective.

Explanations that inform

— Boss2 com-pliments Airman Smith’s performance andexplains his plans to push the Airman forearly promotion; therefore, he needs the EPRimmediately. We can inspire action by pro-viding background information and logicalarguments.When you tellpeople to “just do it” with-out an explanation, they’re not encouraged todo their best. By demonstrating the impor-tance of an action, persuasion becomes aneasy task.

Words, actions that inspire —

Gettingyour own hands dirty can often incite action.Some leaders are great speakers and can useflowery language to motivate. Most of uscan’t write or speak in glittering prose, but wecan all act. When we offer to pitch in andwork with our troops, nine times out of 10they respond with enthusiasm and commit-ment.You now have some new tools to try outthe next time your unit is assigned a toughtask. Remember persuasion first, direct orderslast.Build your credibility by becoming anexpert. Cautiously appeal to an Airman’ssense of empathy, but more often, explainyour decisions using logic, conviction andfactually-based arguments. Use words, ideasand actions to inspire, and don’t be afraid tolend a hand.If one approach doesn’t work, try another,but don’t give in to the urge to pull rank. Theability to be more persuasive makes you amore effective person in the office and in allaspects of life.

Happy 230th birthday, America!

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T

RAINING AND

E

DUCATION

By Susan Griggs

Keesler News staff

Sixty ROTC cadets have been get-ting an introduction to “the real AirForce” this summer while they’re atKeesler for Aerospace 100 specialtraining, commonly referred to as theASSISTprogram.Three sessions with 12 cadets eachtook place during June. Two more ses-sions are July 10-14 and 17-21.Other sessions are being held at AltusAir Force Base, Okla.; Columbus AFB,Miss.; McGuire AFB, N.J., and Van-denberg AFB, Calif.The cadets, representing differentcolleges and universities, are accom-panied by a field grade officer and anoncommissioned officer.“For many cadets, this may be theirfirst experience at an active-dutybase,” said 1st Lt. Parag Shah, baseASSISTdirector. “They’re only atKeesler for five days, so we’re givingthem a broad introduction to the base’smission and operations.”ASSIST’s goal is to recruit, retainand train cadets by exposing them tothe daily operations of an active-dutybase. They’re introduced to as manyfacets of the base’s mission as possi-ble. Tours and demonstrations arehighlighted and briefings are kept to aminimum.Schedules varied from group togroup, and included a windshieldoverview of the base, a tour of Biloxi,a presentation on family support serv-ices, an introduction to the combatcontrol career field and a meeting withchief master sergeants to share a seniorenlisted perspective with the futureofficers.The cadets also visited chapels, fit-ness and recreation facilities, the mili-tary working dog compound, retailfacilies and the air traffic controltower.Part of the week was spent shadow-ing individual company grade officerson the job. One group pitched in withhurricane repairs in a Biloxi home.The cadets eat in dining halls andstay in lodging facilities. Orientationflights are arranged when schedulesallow.

ASSIST

ROTC cadets get birds-eye view of Air Force life

Staff Sgt. Michael Sciortino, a combat control instructor in the334th Training Squadron, demonstrates how combat con-trollers use kettle bell weights to work out in their weightroom in Locker House to a group of ROTC cadets June 20.Cadets Yoo-Na Hwang, left, and Jessica Elliott check out adropsonde used by the 53rd Weather ReconnaissanceSquadron to record weather data during hurricane missionsprior to an incentive flight June 21. Cadet Hwang is a sopho-more at the University of Hawaii, and Cadet Elliott is a fresh-man at Fayetteville State University, N.C.

Photos by Kemberly Groue

Cadet Daniel Carter, a junior at the Universityof Memphis, Tenn., hammers a board intoplace inside a house being repaired at 199Hoxie Street, Biloxi, June 7. The house sus-tained major damage during Hurricane Katrinalast summer.

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