Mission first, people always

  • Published
  • By Col. Robert Hamm
  • 380th Expeditionary Maintenance Group commander
Over the years I’ve watched many leaders -- officers, chiefs, NCOs, and Airmen alike -- take our organization to ever higher levels of achievement. Like you, I have studied those I considered to be outstanding leaders and I’ve watched others struggle with the challenges of leadership. But I learned from all of them.

Growing up in our Air Force, I found the greatest challenge was balancing the needs of the people with the needs of the mission. It seemed to me a leader was described as either a “people person” or a “mission-oriented person,” but seldom did I see a leader who effectively balanced both -- until I met Master Sgt. Kenneth Kelly.

Sergeant Kelly understood it was his job to make sure his shop was capable of performing its wartime tasks but just as importantly to ensure the welfare of the troops.

“Accomplishing the mission is the primary task of every military organization; everything else must be subordinate,” according to AFPAM 36-2241, Promotion Fitness Examination Study Guide. “However, a successful military leader recognizes that people perform the mission and that without their support, the unit will fail. Thus, meeting the needs of the people is a responsibility equal in importance to meeting the requirements of the mission.”

Sergeant Kelly said it this way: “Mission first, people always.” Sergeant Kelly balanced the needs of mission with the needs of people better than anyone I’ve ever known. Sergeant Kelly didn’t confuse taking care of his troops with trying to make all the troops happy. Being a leader isn’t about being popular. Given some of the things we’re asked to do, it’s not realistic to expect everyone to be happy all the time. In his mind, taking care of troops meant ensuring they were properly trained, healthy, properly equipped, held accountable to the highest standards, all the while making sure they understood our core values of integrity, excellence, and selflessness. He wasn’t easy on us. He challenged our team and didn’t tolerate substandard performance.

As a young Airman, I never wanted to disappoint Sergeant Kelly. As a matter of fact, at the time, I didn’t think he cared if we were happy or not. Incidentally, I was wrong on that one. But he was always honest, fair, and consistent. I knew what he expected from me and it was always made very clear to us when we didn’t meet expectations. On the other hand, he made sure we were recognized for the outstanding work our team did.

Sergeant Kelly taught me that balancing the needs of the mission and the needs of our people isn’t easy. It’s an art developed over many years of experience.

Years later, back in the classroom, I read in Air University’s guidelines for command: “… leadership requires hard work, enthusiasm for the job, and sensitivity to what’s going on around you. You must set your standards high, be involved, listen, know what the problems are, remove the weak, promote the strong -- and to do this well you’ve got to be tough.”

It’s just like Sergeant Kelly taught us. It’s mission first and people always.