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Character, values needed in future leaders

  • Published
  • By Air Force Staff Sgt. Rebecca Palmer
  • Nevada National Guard
LAS VEGAS --  In developing its future leaders, the Air Force should consider character and values rather than the physical attributes that are irrelevant to ability, a senior Guard official said here at the 38th annual Tuskegee Airman Inc. (TAI) National Conference Aug. 7.

"Let us endeavor to make carbon copies of the character and values that facilitate excellence," said Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt III, the director of the Air National Guard. "Values, such as integrity, service before self and excellence in all we do, embolden our dedication, strengthen our resolve and guide our commitment to service, to nation and to the immutable principles of freedom."

Wyatt said no one would argue that our Air Force is not the greatest on the planet, but "this greatness is not based on the aircraft, the bombs, the missiles or the bullets we have in our expansive weapons inventory."

Wyatt said the military's greatness is personified by its people. "It is on the face and in the heart of every Airman - every citizen - that puts on the uniform and stands up to defend our nation," he said. "And it is this aptitude for excellence that will ensure our success."

With the Army's recent promotion of Gen. Ann Dunwoody, "the Department of Defense now has members in leadership positions of all races and of both genders," Wyatt said.

At her promotion ceremony, Dunwoody said, "the Army nurtured me and mentored me, and today the Army offers me a chance to return the favor."

Wyatt said her statement "implies an institutional focus on the vital nature of diversity within the Army ranks and within its core cadre of leaders. If this were not the case, my bet is that Gen. Dunwoody would not have received the mentorship, or even the opportunity, required for advancement."

Diversity is more than skin color and gender, Wyatt said. "The concept covers all the aspects that make people ... people. We must move beyond the physical characteristics that maintain a prevalent place in the diversity discourse."

Wyatt said diversity also includes differences in background, in thinking, in ability, in motivation, and in perspective. "It is within these less obvious realms of distinction that the infinite power of diversity can be harnessed."

Rod McKinley, the former chief master sergeant of the Air Force, wrote in his perspective paper earlier this year that Airmen bring their innate differences to bear when executing the Air Force mission.

"Our Airmen are indeed our most vital asset," Wyatt said. "As leaders, we owe them our very best efforts, and it cannot be with closed minds that we undertake this endeavor.

"We must train, equip and educate in the functions and expertise that are required to secure our nation at home and defend freedom around the world."

As part of their training and education, Wyatt suggested that Airmen should seek out the differences that make the Air Force strong.

"We must ensure they understand how to value the diversity of their peers, to synergize their abilities and to focus them on a common vision," he said.

Wyatt then paraphrased Lt. Col. Herbert Carter, a pilot and engineering officer with the 99th Fighter Squadron, known as the "Red Tails," who said: "We must train them and then get out of the way."

"This is an insight that I think is vital to dynamic and effective leadership," Wyatt said. "The outstanding performance of the men in this room - who made up the famed Tuskegee Airmen - proved it to be so."