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Sergeants establish deployed professional development course

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Russell Dodson
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
ALI BASE, Iraq --  The concept to grow and develop professional Airmen is not new to the Air Force, but two senior NCOs here have brought that concept here for the first time.

Senior Master Sgt. Howard Teesdale and Master Sgt. Matthew Smith, both with the 407th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron here, knew that traditional two-day professional development seminars were impractical in a deployed environment. Concerned that Airmen may not get a chance to participate in traditional seminars due to mission requirements, they took it upon themselves to develop and conduct the first "mini" PDS on a bi-weekly basis.

The NCOs designed each seminar to last a maximum of two hours, with at least an hour focused on getting maximum audience interaction, Sergeant Teesdale said.

"Professional development is important to the growth of our Airmen, NCOs and company grade officers," said Sergeant Teesdale, who is deployed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. "I wish we had programs like this available when I was a junior NCO. This is why I'm so passionate about the PDS program here."

"What works at home station doesn't necessarily work in a deployed environment," said Chief Master Sgt. Benny Hughes, 407th AEG superintendent. "The mini-professional development seminar is a prime example of how two NCOs brainstormed to find a better solution."

The first professional development seminar took place in May, with 26 attendees. Word quickly spread about PDS and the next session saw more than 70 participants from units throughout the base.

With attendance growing steadily, Sergeants Teesdale and Smith soon realized the full potential of the seminars. They asked the Ali Base Top 3 to adopt their format, and the third session of PDS became known as the Top 3 Mini-Professional Development Seminar. The Top 3-sponsored seminars have continued growing, with more than 100 Airmen attending the most recent session, said Sergeant Smith, who is deployed from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.

Because of the PDS' popularity, its location has moved twice to accommodate the increasing number of attendees.

Airman 1st Class Michelle Pecjo, a computer support administrator with the 407th EOSS, attended her third seminar Aug. 9. She said she wanted to attend the seminar to become "a better-rounded person."

"It has a lot of good and useful information. The last class I went too offered cross training information," said Airmen Pecjo, who is deployed from McChord AFB, Wash. "It helped me know where things are at and if I wanted to cross train, I know what the process is. It helped me a lot."

Sergeants Teesdale and Smith include subjects for discussion based on feedback from attendees. Discussions cover everything from counseling and financial management to breaking down the meaning behind the Airman's Creed. During one of the seminars, Sergeant Teesdale borrowed from a traditional "four-corners" discussion, where participants choose differing viewpoints on current topics.

"It's great to see healthy discussion about a wide variety of topics. Airmen get a chance to discuss their views in a controlled, but open environment. Sometimes it's hard to allow everyone a chance to chime in," Sergeant Teesdale said. "No head bopping guaranteed in these seminars."

Airman Pecjo agreed. She said she likes listening to each speaker's personal experience and the audience interaction.

"It's not all death by (slide show)," she said.

Additionally, Airmen who attend five of these seminars while deployed to Ali Base receive a signed certificate from the 407th Air Expeditionary Group's commander and superintendent during the monthly awards ceremony. The certificates are mailed to each Airman's home unit to signify his commitment toward professional development, Sergeant Teesdale said.

Sergeants Teesdale and Smith said they hope their efforts have enriched the lives of Airmen, NCOs and CGOs here.

"As they prepare to redeploy, next month they can rest assured that the Top 3 PDS will continue to grow," Chief Hughes said.