Thank you for starting this thread. I am a non-military parent. What was your assignment post-graduation while awaiting pilot training? Was it a challenge for you issuing orders; did you feel that USAFA adequately prepared you for leadership? Did your leadership style change as you were promoted? What was a typical personnel issue that came to your attention & how did you address it?
You're most welcome. I remember when I was making the decision to apply to USAFA and I realized I didn't have a clue about the military (my parents weren't military), so I figured this would help parents and appointees alike.
I actually went straight to my UPT base. I don't know what the percentage of "Casual Status LTs" is coming from USAFA, but most will go straight to their base. So, when I got to Columbus, I basically checked in once a week, then ended up going to Air and Space Basic Course (ASBC) at Maxwell for a month, which that course is now gone.
For the most part, issuing orders hasn't been an issue, mostly because most people get it and are great subordinates. Maybe I've been lucky, or maybe it's my leadership style, but I've never really had to force someone to do anything. I do think that being a pilot and being in that career field, you deal less with "issuing orders" than say, a Security Forces officer who deals with young airmen A LOT more than pilots do. Absolutely I think USAFA prepared me to be a leader. There are so many opportunities for leadership at the Academy, it is near impossible to go through there without some sort of leadership position and/or learning a lot about yourself as a leader. I'm not sure, however, that I really sat down and had some introspection time until I was a young Captain and started to get back in that leadership mentality. The whole Academy experience is a leadership laboratory and is designed that way.
I definitely think I have not necessarily "changed" my leadership style, but I have definitely honed in on my type. We get ample amount of time to think about our style when we go to SOS (Squadron Officer School) as a Captain.
A typical personnel issue that comes up in the crew world of airlift is working with young loadmasters and co-pilots and realizing they are young and need to be handled a little different. I wouldn't say they misbehave, but they can lack the maturity of others, especially those who are single and/or straight out of tech school. Again, maybe I've been lucky, but I haven't had very many behavioral issues on my crews. I suppose when I have had to assert my authority, I do it in a way that is not intimidating or disrespectful, but to the point and serious. Everyone knows when I mean business because usually I am a laid back, joking kind of guy. So, when I put on the serious face, the subordinate tends to realize the seriousness of the matter. I think the best leaders are those that their subordinates don't follow orders because they have to, but because they don't want to let their leader down.
Another issue that sometimes comes up (especially in the pilot world), is getting aircrew that wants to cut corners. Whether it's skipping an item in the checklist or falling victim to the "get-home-itis" after a long mission. As an instructor pilot, you come to know which mistakes you must immediately address and sometimes intervene (mostly based on safety of flight), and those issues you can let them make the mistake (or cut the corner) and then learn from it, whether it be from the error chain it causes down the line, or a simple debrief after the fact. When a co-pilot is lazy and wants to take the easy way out, that is often the time it requires some intervention before things get taken too far down the wrong path. Once again, I'm not a yeller or a screamer, so usually it's just a change in tone and attitude for me. It seems to work fairly effectively.
Those were GREAT questions and I hope I made some semblance of sense out of my answers. If anything is unclear or it led to more questions, please feel free to ask. Thanks again!