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Mentoring in today's Air Force

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Brett Cousino
  • 90th Operations Group first sergeant
There are a lot of people who like to talk about mentoring. 

It has been driven into us at all levels for nearly a decade. It has been given to us as a tool to help develop Airmen and yet so many of us resist it. 

My favorite response NCOs say is, "Airmen aren't they same today as they used to be." 

That is true. Twenty years ago, people didn't spend hours and hours trying to get to the next level of a video game. I will guarantee that this is not the first generation of NCOs or senior NCOs to utter those words. 

Regardless of whatever diversion young people choose to occupy their time, they are still people. They have the same desires that older force members had. They just have different tools to fulfill their needs. 

Long ago, we may have gone to the day-room to play pool and socialize with our fellow Airmen. Now they look each other up on the Internet or leave messages on social Web sites to fulfill their needs. The pool tables go unused. 

Thanks to the advancement of cell phone technology, they can reach out and get a hold of their friends at any time. They send 200 word text messages in less than 12 seconds. 

Our society has changed. Whether you blame it on a change of culture, technology, overpopulation, it doesn't matter. As a whole, we are different. 

This difference between the 1988 Air Force and the 2008 Air Force doesn't mean that our responsibility to these young men and women has changed. There are still ways to identify with these Airmen. 

If you feel you have had a successful career, chances are there was a NCO when you were young who helped you get there. There was someone who gave you advice or mentored you, no matter how subtle it was. There was someone who you wanted to emulate, personally, professionally or both. Can you picture that NCO in your head? Are you like them? When was the last time you really tried to relate to one of your Airmen? 

The problem is not today's young Airmen, it's the NCOs. The Airmen are versatile and curious. They still learn new things everyday. Not just about their jobs, but new things about themselves and others. They are still growing. 

Mentoring our Airmen isn't just a formal, once-in-a-while program. We mentor by being flexible in our leadership styles and guiding the next generation. I encourage everyone to make leading a part of everyday interaction with the younger Airmen. Take some time to get to know them. Take them out of their dorm room to go skiing, hunting, snowmobiling or whatever you can. Try to beat them at their video games -- you won't, but you can try. 

I'm not saying to go spend all of your time in their dorms. Nobody wants an "Airmen Harassment Program." Likewise, I am not encouraging unprofessional relationships or favoritism. We are all responsible enough to know the difference. What I mean is we should find some common ground. 

The next time you feel like saying, "Why are Airmen today so different from when I was an Airman?" Instead, ask yourself, "Am I so different from the NCOs who guided me when I was an Airman?"