Phoenix Stripe brings together total force

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Leslie Brown
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFPN) --  Forty-six junior noncommissioned officers and civilians from around the Air Force participated in Air Mobility Command's Phoenix Stripe program here April 4 to 7.

Phoenix Stripe is a professional development program geared toward providing up and coming staff and technical sergeants with an overview of how AMC operates at the headquarters level and its role in the war on terrorism. 

A true total-force class was formed for this year's event.  Airman from other major commands and Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve personnel attended.  Some civilians from here also attended.

"Attending this class has been a great opportunity," said Staff Sgt. Hope Snead, from the Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. "Coming to the conference has helped me see the big Air Force picture. In the medical corps you don't get exposed to all of the other Air Force issues. You are mainly aware of the medical issues.

"Now I have great insight to what direction the Air Force is moving toward," Sergeant Snead said.

Attendees toured the Tanker Airlift Control Center, where they saw how mobility missions are tasked and tracked throughout the world. Everyone in the class participated in the "Fit to Fight" physical training session at the Scott health and wellness center, where they performed cardio and circuit training for more than an hour.

The class also received a mix of AMC knowledge along with leadership advice.

The course provided opportunities for mentorship and education.

Karen Frey, administrative assistant for AMC's communications operations division, hopes more civilians can attend because the program was so informative. 

"There was a lot of good information presented during the course," Ms. Frey said. "I've only been in AMC for about a year now so I found all of the information valuable."

She added that she would like to see a senior civilian on the panel portion of the conference.

"They have the chiefs panel that is really helpful, but it would have been nice to have a civilian on the panel to get the civilian perspective," Ms. Frey said.

One champion of the civilian integration in military programs such as this is Brenda Romine, deputy director of logistics and senior civilian for AMC. She feels civilian participation in these types of courses is important for future total-force development.

"Just like the deliberate development of our Airmen, we need to develop our civilian force the same way," Ms. Romine said. "This type of training for our civilians is instrumental in developing a true, total force."

(Courtesy of Air Mobility Command News Service)