What’s your job like every day? My job varies day to day, which is one of the aspects that makes this one of the best jobs in the Air Force. Some days, I am in my office completing administrative work, and the next day, I can be out seeing Airmen and getting to know them and what they are going through. I find either type of day fulfilling because the work I do directly helps Airmen further their career or get it back on track.
Do you have a mentoring or career tip for Airmen, including those who’d like to be a “first shirt” someday?
One of the biggest mentoring or career tips I can give Airmen is to not feel ashamed to verbalize your goals to your leadership. I think a lot of Airmen feel hesitation to vocalize their aspirations to be a chief, senior or officer. No one can help you achieve your goals if they do not know what they are.
For those who want to be a first sergeant someday, the main tips I can give you are to work on being humble, patient and understanding. As a first sergeant, we have to understand that every issue or good thing that an Airman tells us is important to them, so it should be important to us.
As “shirts,” we are entrusted with very private details and we have a responsibility to that individual who shared it to take it seriously. We also must understand that we are a supporting actor in their show and must humble ourselves enough to always put our Airmen first.
What’s your favorite part of being a first sergeant and why?
My favorite part of this job is seeing Airmen enjoy their personal successes. Sometimes, we forget that a lot of our Airmen took a very big risk in their life when they joined, and being able to succeed in the Air Force — no matter how small the victory is — serves as validation that they made a good life choice when they were younger.
Celebrating these moments and them personally only makes them want to achieve more, which in-turn will make our Air Force that much stronger.
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