Ramping up for IEA, submit now pg 3

Majorsannounced thisyear pg 3SOCES: Airmen build new future pg 4SOLRS: Newcombat turret pg 4

Congratulations to the 39th InformationOperations Squadron for more than 1,375days without a DUI.

DUI-FREE

Photo by Dylan Laurie

Special Operators

taking the plunge

pg 14

Big changes in BAH pg 7

Disclaimer

Published by the Northwest Florida Daily News, a private firmin no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive writtencontract with the 1st Special Operations Wing.This civilian enterprise Air Force newspaper is an authorizedpublication for members of the U.S. military services (add "overseas"in publications outside the United States). Contents of (name of news-paper) are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S.Government, the Department of Defense, or the Department of theAir Force. The appearance of advertising in this publication, includ-ing inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by theDepartment of Defense, the Department of the Air Force or NorthwestFlorida Daily News of the products or services advertised.Everything advertised in this publication shall be made availablefor purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion,sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, politicalaffiliation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or patron.Editorial content is edited, prepared, and provided by the 1st SpecialOperations Wing Public Affairs office. All photographs are Air Forcephotographs unless otherwise indicated.

Submitting articles

The deadline for submissions to the COMMANDO is noon Mondayfor briefs the week of publication. Articles may be submitted on IBMformat computer disk or via electronic mail. Non-electronic submis-sions must be typed, double-spaced. All submissions must include thename and telephone number of a person to call.

Open Line

The Commander’s Open Line is your direct line to the base com-mander for questions or suggestions about subjects of concern to theHurlburt Field community. To receive a response, leave your name, unitand telephone number. Open lines of general interest will be printed inthe COMMANDO.Other questions will be answered by letter or phone call. Remember,the quickest and most efficient way to resolve a problem is to talkdirectly to the agency responsible. This gives them an opportunity tohelp you and perhaps improve their process. However, if you’re notsatisfied with the answer you receive, feel free to give the commandera call at 884-OPEN (6736), or e-mail your concerns to commando@hurlburt.af.mil.

Address information

U.S. MAIL: COMMANDO131 Bartley Street, Suite 326Hurlburt Field, FL 32544-5271E-MAIL: commando@hurlburt.af.milTELEPHONE: (850) 884-7464FAX: (850) 884-6093

COMMANDO Editorial Staff: COMMANDO Staff:

Col. Norman Brozenick Jr.

Commander

Capt. Joseph Coslett

Chief, Public Affairs

Staff Sgt. Kelly Ogden

Editor

“A true sign of leadership is nothow well you run your organization, but how well it runs once you’regone.” — Anonymous senior non-commissioned officerTo lead Air Commandos in theGlobal War on Terrorism, today’sSpecial Operations Forces leadermust be able to visualize the wayahead, lead their Airmen to the endstate and “power-down” authoritiesto the lowest levelscommensurate withthe risk.Frequently ourSOF taskings requireus to operate not just“Anytime, Anyplace,” but often in condi-tions more closelyresembling “Aloneand Unafraid.”How then do we,the Air Commandosof today, preparethe next generation to lead in suchuncertain environments?We must, without fail, ensurethey receive every opportunityto learn from, and participate in,today’s leadership challenges.The five steps in U.S. Army FieldManual 6-0, the service’s doctrinalmodel for combat leadership, hassomething to offer Air Commandosin this respect.We must leave them with thecapacity to visualize the nature anddesign of operations, to describetheir vision to staff and subordinate-commanders, to direct the executionof their vision, and to personallylead and assess their organizationthroughout.As Airmen, we receive profes-sional military education to improveour communication skills to describeand direct. As Air Commandos, weare trained to execute specific tacti-cal tasks.We use our technical “know-how”to lead and assess people and pro-cesses. Visualization is the first criti-cal step in the process.Learning to visualize does notcome from a PME syllabus, norcan you be trained at tech schoolto acquire this skill.More often than not,experience is theonly teacher.Unless the AirCommandos oftoday take the timeto share our expe-riences, the AirCommando leadersof tomorrow will beforced to re-learn ourlessons the hard way.Yet, visualizationrequires more than simply pullingfrom personal or collective experi-ences. Fundamentally, visualizationrequires decision making as well.Our experiences tell us that visu-alizing a course of action can be avery intricate, deliberate decision-making process.Other times, it might require asplit-second decision. When afford-ed the time, grab your junior leadersand describe to them what you’rethinking, what issues you’re con-sidering, how you’re weighing riskand get their inputs. When you don’thave the time, be directive and getthe mission done … but be sure lateron to use a debrief or similar tool topass on the “how and why” of yourdecisions.The ensuing discussion will putvital tools in their leadership kit bags. As you grow these juniorleaders, you’ll find they’re able toanticipate your decisions. As theiranticipation grows, so grows theirown ability to visualize.In reality, this model of combatleadership is not limited to combatonly. Applied properly, visualize,describe, direct, lead and assess arefundamental leadership steps forany scenario. They can provide cer-tainty in uncertain times.As the Global War on Terrorismevolves, our nation will require AirCommando leaders to reach timely,appropriate decisions in uncertainconditions.So here’s my challenge to you: Inorder to develop the next generationof Air Commandos, you must takethe time to “read in” the next gener-ation of Air Force Special OperationCommand leaders into your decisionmaking process.Passing on your visualizationtechniques does not require any cos-mic PowerPoint briefing or trainingsession – just your time. Have youtaken the time to ensure your orga-nization, led by the next generationof Air Commando leaders, will suc-ceed once you’ve moved on?

Developing vision for nextAir Commando leaders

by Lt. Col. Christopher Ireland

15th SOS director of operations

Courtesy photo

MC-130 H Combat Talon from the 15th Special Operations Squadron refuels ahelicopter over the Gulf of Mexico.

“We must, with-out fail, ensurethey receive every opportunity tolearn from, and participate in,today’s leadershipchallenges.”

1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla.Vol. 56, Issue 1Jan. 12, 2007

Jamie Haig

Contract writer

Dylan Laurie

Contract writer

COMMANDO

With the impending InstallationExcellence Award assessment teamvisit, the 1st Special Operations MissionSupport Squadron Manpower Officesent an e-mail to units requesting pro-posals for Air Force Best Practices to rein-force the reasons Hurlburt Field should be given the award.An Air Force Best Practice is definedon the Air Force Manpower Agency Webpage as “a superior method or innovativepractice that contributes to the improvedperformance of the process.”“I’ve e-mailed all of the InstallationExcellence Award points of contact fromeach unit requesting they give us a pro-posal of one or more best practices,” saidBrenda Smith, 1st SOMSS ManpowerOffice. “The units will submit the pro-posals to me, and I will give them to AirForce Special Operations Command forvalidation.”The AFMA Web page lists the rules ofengagement in submitting a best prac-tice. The best practice should be basedon one or more of the six criteria listedin the ROE.There’s a short form that needs to becompleted and instructions on finalizingthe package.“It’s not a long form and shouldn’ttake a lot of time to complete,” Ms. Smithsaid.“Submitting at the Air Force levelshows innovation and leadership,”said Lt. Col. Steven Kimball, 1st SpecialOperations Mission Support Group dep-uty commander, who is in charge of theIEA visit. “It shows other bases that ourway of doing business is worth emulat-ing.”The form requires a summary of the best practice and the impact on the pro-cess or organizational process. It musthave a staff summary sheet attachedshowing approval throughout the unit.The package should be delivered to the1st SOMSS Manpower Office.AFSOC will then review and validatethe best practice, and if approved, theend results will be listed on the form andon the AFMA Web page.“These are the qualities that the IEAassessment team will be here to observe,”Colonel Kimball said.The IEA team visits Hurlburt Field Jan. 29-31, so submissions must be madeimmediately.“Our competition is tough. Columbusand Mountain Home Air Force Baseshave already submitted and approvedAir Force level best practices,” ColonelKimball said.“We know the Air Commandos cando better.”Submissions may be turned intoMs. Smith anytime between now andTuesday. The forms and instructions may be found at: https://www.afma.randolph.af.mil/orgunits/MAP/MAPI/awards/6_AF%20Best%20Practices/index.asp.The 1st SOMSS Manpower Office islocated in Bldg. 90210, Room 218. Formore information, call 884-6805.

by Jamie Haig

Contract writer

Air Force Best Practicesubmissions wanted ASAP

Congratulations to thefollowing major-selects:

Air Force SpecialOperations Command

Shawn BeauchampRhonda CrawfordDavid Emery John FruehRobert LyonsChristopher Schumpp

Air Force SpecialOperations Forces

Adam FiedlerTravis Woodworth

1st Special OperationsWing Staff

Erin Bender Marilyn Garcia

1st Special OperationsComptroller Squadron

Allison Chisholm

1st Special OperationsGroup

Allison Black

1st Special OperationsSupport Squadron

David BaumgartnerRyan BohnerDonald Greene Andrew Jennings Marc Llacuna John MahPhillip Miller

3rd Special OperationsSquadron

Steven BeattieSteven BetschartWilliam MitchellLichen PursleyKevin QuattlebaumRobin Schaeffer

4th SOS

Carlos AlvaradoZachary Barker Joshua HartigKevin HuberWilliam NelsonDerek Price Meghan RippleLance Rosamiranda Michael Shreves

6th SOS

James AbbottHartmut Casson Matthew JonesCheree Kochen

8th SOS

William Julian

9th SOS

Yvonne Carrico Jason Crawford Janelle Percy Josh Rieder

15th SOS

William Alexander Justin LewisNathaniel MillerDaniel ThomasChiafei Wu

16th SOS

Douglas BrownPhilip Forbes Jason Mier

19th SOS

George Cundiff William Triplett

20th SOS

James BlanchardFrancis CooperLawrence GrahamTimothy MatlockBrian RobertsScott Yeatman

73rd SOS

Andrew Biro

1st Special OperationsEquipment MaintenanceSquadron

Marc Walker

Welcome to the Majors!

New year - new majors at Hurlburt Field

Airmen identified asrequired to retrain underPhase II of the Air ForceFiscal 2007 Noncommis-sioned Officer RetrainingProgram must submit aretraining application byMonday or separate fromthe Air Force.After meeting the dead-line, Phase II eligible’s mustchoose an Air Force spe-cialty code from a list ofavailable AFSCs and sub-mit a completed retrainingapplication by Feb. 28.Depending on whatnumber you are on thelist, if you haven’t submit-ted a retraining package by the deadline, the morelikely that you will be sepa-rated from the Air Force,said a source at the 1stSpecial Operations MissionSupport Squadron employ-ment office.Many people believe thatif they ignore the listingwith their name on it thatthey will be able to remainin their current career field,which is untrue. Eachindividual is thoroughlytracked through Air ForcePersonnel Center and allof the individual’s effortsto actively participate inthe retraining program are being tracked.Any Airman identifiedas vulnerable for retrainingwho fails to submit the ini-tial retraining request will be determined to have offi-cially declined retraining.“Airmen selected forretraining who have thenecessary retainability can-not decline retraining,” saidChief Master Sgt. ChristineWilliams, chief of the AirForce Personnel Centerenlisted skills management

AFPN

Involuntary phase for NCO retrain programbegins

See

NCO

page 17 see

MAJORS

page 17