SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The 50th Force Support Squadron hosted a Lieutenant Professional Enhancement Seminar at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, March 9-11. This new course provides junior officers and civilians the opportunity to learn about leadership traits and qualities.
“This course was established [with] the goal of preparing junior officers for the challenges of a successful Air Force career,” said Mr. James Driscoll, 50th FSS force development flight chief.
Joining Schriever AFB junior officers to take advantage of the first offering of the course, were officials from the El Paso County Sheriff Office.
“[The course is] meant for first and second lieutenants, but is also open to early [Department of Defense] civilian supervisors,” said Master Sgt. Kathryn North, the 50th FSS career assistance advisor. “With this new class specifically, we’ve opened it up to the community for some leaders within the sheriff’s office.”
The Colorado Springs military installations and local law enforcement have strong ties to each other that go back decades. The opportunity to offer leadership and management principles while sharing mentoring experiences is one of many stepping stones for a stronger relationship.
“Colorado Springs has such an incredibly large military community, courses like this one are beneficial for both civilians and military because it helps gain better knowledge of others and strengthens connections,” said North.
With the relationship that 50th FSS has built between Schriever AFB and the local law enforcement, they were able to get two participants from the El Paso County Sheriff Office, Sergeant Kristyn Nordeman, Patrol Division school resource officer and Deputy Josie Haag, Special Operations Division school resource officer.
“We don’t have anything like ALS [Airmen Leadership School], NCO [noncommissioned officer] Academy, Senior NCO Academy, or anything along those lines. This course is the closest to those that we can attend,” said Haag. “There may be something that we can learn from you guys, that’s going to help us to help the community.”
The sheriff’s office runs a lot like the military when it comes to how they do things. The lessons learned from this course, can be brought back and implemented with their troops to be used daily.
“I learned a lot about the military life, now when I get a call and end up interacting with military personnel I have a better understanding of what they’re going through,” said Nordeman. “As a law enforcement official working within Colorado Springs, we are always running into military personnel. The lessons will bring us closer together.”
The Lieutenant Professional Enhancement Seminar takes place over two and a half days, with each class being eight hours a day and will be offered twice each year. Due to COVID-19 precautions to ensure student safety, the course was limited to 10 attendees.
To register for classes, visit the 50th FSS Share Point at https://usaf.dps.mil/teams/12936/default.aspx.