JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- In a 2016 Letter to Airmen, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein said, “It is time to revitalize the squadron as the warfighting core of our Air Force.”
A beta version of the Air Force’s Flight Commander Leadership Course was held here Dec.11-13 to grow leaders earlier in an effort to revitalize squadrons.
“When the CSAF said squadrons are the most important unit in the Air Force, he was talking to you who will run the flights and run the Air Force,” said Lt. Col. Zack Hall, 15th Operations Support Squadron commander. “It’s important that you have the leadership skills and behaviors to make it work.”
Hall addressed 13 company grade officers who were hand selected by their commanders to attend the course.
“This course provides you time for introspection to evaluate yourself and your abilities to be the leader you want to be and the leader the Air Force wants you to be,” said Hall, who is also the class mentor.
The course curriculum included mentorship from current squadron and group commanders and interactions with base agencies to learn how they can assist leaders in completing the mission and taking care of their Airmen.
Lt. Col. Rose Stoor, who is the eSchool program manager at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, led the team that created the content options for the course and received a first-hand look at how Hickam Sky Warriors are implementing the lessons into the local course.
“Many wing commanders already had similar programs in place, so we polled the courses to see what was being taught,” Stoor said. “There were a multitude of topics, but there was little leadership being taught.”
Over a five-month span, the eSchool created full lesson plans on leadership and lesson guides with ranging topics to supplement wing commander courses and help flight commanders.
The courses can be modified to any audience, but the goal is to strengthen squadrons.
“For many, this is the first opportunity to improve skills needed to help flight commanders,” Stoor said.