Twenty-second Air Force leadership teams meet for summit

  • Published
  • By Meredith Kirchoff
  • 22nd Air Force Public Affairs
DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. --  Leadership teams across 22nd Air Force gathered at the Numbered Air Force headquarters here March 13-15, 2018 to participate in a Senior Leader Summit hosted by 22nd AF Commander Maj. Gen. Craig La Fave.

Commanders, command chiefs, process managers and force support superintendents attended the summit, which focused on amplifying and sustaining readiness, optimizing processes and developing the Reserve Citizen Airmen of 22nd AF.

“I want to offload our Airmen,” La Fave said. “Let them do the AFSC skillsets and let us worry about the rest. And, we want to help you; we need to know about the problems and we want to advocate for your Airmen. Thank you for your leadership.”

Communicating senior Air Force and Air Force Reserve leadership priorities and expectations directly to leaders in 22nd Air Force is a primary benefit of the summit, La Fave said.

“It’s a great opportunity to cross-talk with all the commanders, said Col. Janette Thode, 340th Flying Training Group commander. “Just looking at new ideas, because we are so unique in our operations, and gaining insights into how the rest of the command is operating, especially in 22nd.”

While commanders tackled increasing the effectiveness of Unit Training Assembly weekends and process managers worked on optimizing Airmen’s time, command chiefs focused on developing the next generation of enlisted leaders.

“We’ve been talking a lot about career paths for the senior enlisted leaders,” said Chief Master Sgt. Tina Carlson, 908th Airlift Wing command chief. “I think that’s key because if we don’t know where our next moves are, how can we start grooming and guiding the next group of command chiefs?”

“We’ve been dialoguing today about the command chief screening board, and how we’re going to go about the panels and making sure individuals know exactly what they need to do to get onto the command chief screening board,” Carlson added.

Each summit, attendee composition varies based on the priorities and issues at hand. Process managers participated in this SLS to collaborate on ways to optimize Reservists’ time, said Tara Mercado, 22nd Air Force process manager.

“With our focus on sustaining readiness, direct reporting units must ensure the most effective use of their available time,” Mercado said. “Process Managers play an integral role by assisting units in finding process efficiencies.”

Summit attendees also had the opportunity to experience a new Atlanta icon during an evening team-building outing to tour SunTrust Park, just down a few miles from Dobbins ARB.

The summit will reconvene in late summer 2018.