SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. —
Air Mobility Command and Chief Master Sgt. Newman, AMC command chief, hosted the Command Chief Symposium Wednesday, July 31 to August 1, 2024, bringing together command-wide senior enlisted leaders to further forge leadership and lethality within AMC while focusing on Body, Mind, and Craft.
For body portion, the team participated in six hours of Krav Maga, Israeli martial arts aimed at improving physical fitness, reducing stress, and enhancing community all while also teaching self-defense tactics. The team also conducted weapon familiarization and combat arms training techniques, improving capabilities and communication.
“The holistic intent is to get after General [Mike] Minihan’s Mind, Body, Craft initiative to build that Warrior Heart culture,” said Newman. “What better way than to lead by example and take some of the most senior enlisted leaders and show them what it really looks like. Thus, providing a baseline for these Chiefs to adopt, improve or create their own wing’s Warrior Heart program. Creating a warrior mindset was the goal, not listening to hours and hours of briefings.”
For the mind portion, the team received operations, activity and investment breakdowns from the variety of AMC staff directorates and program leads, while also touring the headquarters, 618th Air Operations Center, and work centers across Scott Air Force Base.
“The last two days have been eye opening,” said Chief Master Sergeant Markiesha C. Crawford, 22nd Air Refueling Wing command chief. “They’ve been a great time. A lot of lessons learned. Definitely going to go back to Team McConnell to bring some of that warrior mindset.”
For craft portion, the team joined for professional development discussions and AMC leadership insights. The collective experience in the room allowed for open and honest dialogue among AMC’s top enlisted leaders from 21 installations around the globe.
“We are here to defend our nation, and our allies. And so, bringing it down to this level, doing what we did, why we’re here this week, vastly different than any other symposium we would normally do,” said Chief Master Sgt. Dennis W. Fuselier, Expeditionary Center command chief. “It was a reminder that we’re all warfighters. And when the nation calls that we’re prepared to defend the nation and our allies.”
As senior leaders who help posture AMC forces around the globe to enable rapid movement, maneuver, and sustainment of the Joint Force, the group of command chiefs have a heavy task at hand. The symposium drove home the importance of maintaining a warfighter’s mindset and sharing the fundamentals of leadership.
