Good afternoon everyone.
I recently promoted to C/SSgt last meeting and was told a few days before that that I would be the new Charlie flight sargent. I was quite suprised and happy to accept the new challenge. I love working with the new cadets and helping/ mentoring them throught the first few months in the program. This past weekend I attended the NCOS that was held down at my base. It was and amazing experience and I feel that I learned a lot, but I am still open to other advice.
The program had a lot to do with drill and public speaking (I feel that I am quite sufficient now), but I am still looking for advice on how to maintain a schedual and what kinds of classes I should be teaching to beginning cadets (Airmen). I have been thinking and have come up with some ideas but am looking for some more advice. Any responces are greatly appreciated.
Talk with your command. They will be the biggest help with that. They know what the squadron needs. And ask about the Cadet Great Start.
Thank you for the advice. I feel the biggest thing I am looking for is how to get a schedual going. I was not given much notice and the flight sargent that was before me has not had a chace to give me very much advice and I feel that he kind of expected me to know things that I had not been taught. I just feel like I am going into this position with only half the picture of what and how I am supposed to accomplish things.
Get with the other flight sergeants and officers and see what they are doing, or is it that you teach your flight and they teach theirs?
Does your squadron have staff meetings? If not, ask if you can have one, to help set up plans/schedules. I find that they're very constructive. A lot of knowledge-sharing goes on.
Congratulations on your promotion.
You should be coordinating scheduling with the flight commander, or whoever your immediate supervisor is if you do not have a flight commander.
Use the Cadet Staff Handbook (CAPP 52-15) (http://www.capmembers.com/media/cms/P052_015_21F7ACED34F45.pdf) as a reference.
One more thing that will probably help: It's sergeant, not sargent.
My honest apologies on the misspelling of Sergeant. I will try harder to catch my mistakes before posting next time. Thank you for the comment.
Congratulations on your new positionl. A few pieces of advice that I give my cadets when they take over any position follow.
-Your success is no longer a matter of how well you do. Your success as a leader depends on the performance of your people. The more successful they are, the more successful you are.
-Know your people. Know their strengths and weaknesses. Know who is good at what. Empower the ones who are strong in an area to help strengthen the ones who are weaker in that area. If you have someone who is good at D&C, have them help you teach the cadets who are not as good. This keeps them involved, and makes them feel like they have a purpose.
-Regularly consult your element leaders. They will know the needs of their people better than you (it's their job). Have them keep you informed about who needs what test, who is having issues, and who wants to do what training.
-Keep your people informed about what is going on. See the big picture that the Flight/CC and C/CC are looking at and make sure you can answer to your people how their efforts contribute to that big picture
-Set goals for your people based on the Flight/CC's goals and piorities for the flight. Help them set goals for themself. The SMART and 5W's/1H methods are a good place to start. These goals don't need to be outrageous. They can be as simple as "in 1 month, your objective inspection score will go from 70% to 85% or higher. To do this, you will do X, Y and Z. To assist you, I or one of my element leaders will spot check your uniform every week and mentor you on uniforms until your score improves."
-Give your element leaders written expectations, duties and assignments. Assign each element leader personnel in writing. This lets your element leader know what is expected of them, and is used as a measuring device for performance. Empower your people to meet these expectations, duties and assignment goals.
-Be available to give guidance to your element leaders. They will need it.
-Learn everything you can about the Flight/CC job. You are required to step in and fill the position in their absence.
Good luck!
Quote from: MajorPayne on April 24, 2012, 12:19:55 AM
My honest apologies on the misspelling of Sergeant. I will try harder to catch my mistakes before posting next time. Thank you for the comment.
Not to nitpick, but here comes a nitpick. It is schedule, not schedual.
Spelling and grammar are key. It is hard to respect someone if they can't spell or use proper grammar.
He's already been counseled by PM.
SarDragon, your signature says "C/WO" Cadet Warrant Officer? that's a Cadet grade?
Quote from: ECCS4Life on April 24, 2012, 11:25:09 PM
SarDragon, your signature says "C/WO" Cadet Warrant Officer? that's a Cadet grade?
Indeed. Came out in 1968, changed to C/FO in the '80s, and went away around '99. That was the rank you promoted to when you got your Mitchell Award.
Quote from: SarDragon on April 24, 2012, 11:41:45 PM
Quote from: ECCS4Life on April 24, 2012, 11:25:09 PM
SarDragon, your signature says "C/WO" Cadet Warrant Officer? that's a Cadet grade?
Indeed. Came out in 1968, changed to C/FO in the '80s, and went away around '99. That was the rank you promoted to when you got your Mitchell Award.
Gold pip club here... I get looked at funny now when I mention that and the huge differences between the program then and now. Like only having to run a mile for the PT aspect, went to pushups, situps, sit n reach, mile.
Technically, a cadet only has to do situps, pushups, and the Mile to pass PT. The requirement is "Run plus 2/3". Whenever i do my PT, i tend to skip the shuttle run and sit and reach. It just makes things easier. Anyway, back to being a Flight Sergeant.
If you're just coming into the position straight from Corps,(like i did), you'll notice it's a bit hard to yell at and criticize a group of cadets you once stood beside getting yelled at. The best thing you can do, is just get through the yelling, nitpicking,nagging,etc., and just look at it as more of a DUTY than something you're able to do. You, as a Flt Sgt., are OBLIGATED to be a little more harsh, no matter how tough it is.
What I stated was late 90s. The first time i know they revamped the CPFT.
Quote from: ECCS4Life on April 25, 2012, 12:02:57 AMThe best thing you can do, is just get through the yelling,
The best thing you can do is
not yell.
I had this exact conversation Saturday evening with a recently retired NCO who has 8 stripes and a star on his CAP uniform and was the first shirt for the entirety of E7-E9, including being part of the base honor guard. A conversation that took place while surrounded by USN PO's and Chiefs pushing divisions.
The Chief's point was that yelling all the time turns it into background noise and you are ignored, while if you reserve a loud tone for when it
is really important, your troops will also know what you are saying is "really important".
As to the red-ropes, it is remarkable how toned-down they are in their instruction. They've got "11" when it is needed, but it isn't needed very often.