Top brass share pearls of wisdom with junior officers Published June 30, 2008 By Capt. Cathleen Snow 920th Rescue Wing PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Junior Air Force Reserve officers from across the nation came together for mentoring and leadership in Cocoa Beach June 26-29. Hosted by the Air Force Reserve Command's 920th Rescue Wing here, seven senior leaders including the 920th Wing Commander, Col. Steve Kirkpatrick, shared their pearls of wisdom with 46 lieutenants through captains in a variety of settings. "Patrick AFB and Florida's Space Coast provide an excellent venue to mentor our young leaders within the Air Force Reserve Command. They were not only be exposed to the 920th Rescue Wing mission, but were able to see how the 45th Space Wing and national agencies interact to perform the space mission for the Air Force," Said Colonel Kirkpatrick. The junior officers took in classroom lessons such as "Leading from the Trenches" to "Balancing Stress", to "Who Moved my Cheese," a lesson on goal setting and flexibility. Then they climbed aboard Air Force busses bound for Cape Canaveral Air Force Station stopping at current and historic sites such as Launch Complex 34 where the Apollo 1 caught fire claiming the lives of some of history's first astronauts in 1967. They toured the Air Force Space and Missile Museum then dawned goggles and boarded HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters for an aerial tour of Kennedy Space Center's space shuttle vehicle assembly building and a pilot's view of CCAFS. "This program gives them breadth of experience and allows them to gain leadership skills," Maj. Michael Martini, Junior Officer Leadership Development Seminar Program Director. "Junior officers don't get a lot of face time with senior Air Force leaders, especially generals," he said. The ranking officer was a two-star general, Maj. Gen. Linda Hemminger, a Reserve mobilization assistant to the Air Force Surgeon General and nurse practitioner in her full-time civilian job. "I'm really excited to be able to speak with senior leadership," said Capt. Elizabeth Dicus, 433rd Airlift Wing, Lackland AFB, Texas. "(Junior officers) spend their time executing their Wing's mission. This gives them a chance to pull a way from their squadron or wing and see why we do what we do," said Major Martini. There are pilots, engineers, public affairs officer, and logisticians. "The variety of junior officers who attended gave each of them a broader view of various job responsibilities at different wings," said the major who helps organize four JOLDS a year. They're also exposed to the different military services. "So they are speaking the same language when hitting the ground at Baghdad," said Major Martini. Army Material Command's Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Brig. Gen. Bert K. Mizusawa gave them a look at joint military operations. The program also expanded their view of different agencies such as the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute here. The evenings left time for them to enjoy some time at Downtown Disney in Orlando and a little beach time too. Three of the senior leaders were former 920th Rescue Wing Commanders here at one time: Brig. Gen. Richard "Ric" Severson, Assistant Vice Commander, Air Force Reserve Command, Robins Air Force Base, Ga; Colonel John (Jay) C. Flournoy, Jr., commander of the 932nd Airlift Wing, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.; and most recently, Col. Timothy E. Tarchick, commander of the 934th Airlift Wing, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Air Reserve Station, Minn. "I liked the variety of speakers and each commander's views. Also, the people I met and their different jobs," said 1st Lt. Shawn Kilbourne, pilot, 970th Airborne Air Control Squadron, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. I would recommend it to others," he said.