There’s no quitting in the Air Force

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. John Lasky
  • Air Force Print News
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  An Airman candidate stood up and said, “I quit.”

Almost before he could finish speaking, three staff sergeants were in his face barking like trained attack dogs.

“You can’t quit!” they yelled. “We decide who’s quitting, and you’re not quitting! Ain’t no such thing as quitting.”

The confrontation took place when the Airman was processing into the Ramstein Area Motivational Program. Commanders use this 30-day program here to “reblue” airmen basics through staff sergeants, whose attitude or behavior has deteriorated, resulting in nonjudicial punishment under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The candidates should not quit the program, program officials said. They are there because the Air Force, their commander and supervisor have not given up on them, said Staff Sgt. Joseph Gallina, noncommissioned officer in charge of the program.

“One of the hardest parts of my job is trying to convince candidates that, by their being sent here, their commanders see something in them worth retaining and that there’s more to (the program) than what happens during Day 1,” he said. “It normally takes 14 days before a candidate sees that he or she is getting a second chance and that being here is a good thing.”

The program “is like a ‘welcome back to the Air Force’ when, for some reason, the core values get set aside,” said Master Sgt. Maury Turner of the 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron at nearby Spangdahlem Air Base. Airmen in his unit went through the program, which is available to all bases within U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Inprocessing is “pretty much a three hour butt chewing,” Sergeant Gallina said. The whole point is to get candidates to admit to their wrongdoing and make them just a bit more “compliant,” he said.

“We have to make them realize that they did something wrong or they’ll just go through the motions for 30 days and leave not gaining anything out of their time here,” said Staff Sgt. Mike Bowles of the program’s cadre.

There is a person with the program on duty around the clock. Sergeant Gallina has four helpers, all on loan for 120 days from base units.

Staff Sgt. Bradley Walters, of the 435th Communications Squadron here, has just completed 60 days as part of the cadre with Sergeant Bowles, who is assigned to the 435th Vehicle Readiness Squadron here.

“I saw this, first, as an opportunity to help Airmen get on the right track and back on the job,” Sergeant Walters said. If that does not work, he said then maybe he can help “stop them from wasting the Air Force’s time.”

While not everyone who goes through the program will leave “reblued,” it has had good results. In 2004, 61 Airmen completed the program. Of those, 47 Airmen went back to their units remotivated and 31 received outstanding results, program officials said.

The cadre runs a tight ship. Their schedule starts with a 4:45 a.m. wake up and ends with lights out at 9 p.m. A usual day entails reveille and retreat, room and uniform inspections, and facility and base details. But there are plenty of academics, too, covering topics such as life management, anger and stress management and, of course, core values.

On one desk sits a blue brick. Stenciled on it in white letters are the Air Force core values: integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. The brick is used to remind candidates of those values.

Sergeant Bowles told one candidate, “You’ll carry this (brick) with you to remind you that the core values are not to be taken lightly. I know that they always weigh heavy on my mind.”