Airmen graduate Group's first NCOLDP

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jason Schaap
  • 931st ARG Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  In one day, Staff Sgt. Moni Ringer tried to calm a mutiny among her Airmen, lost her vision to a poisonous gas and then was blown-up crossing a mine field.

It was all part of simulated training during the first Noncommissioned Officer Leadership Development Program course taught at the 931st Air Refueling Group. Sergeant Ringer and 20 other 931st Airmen graduated from the course on Aug. 15.

NCOLDP was created by Air Force Reserve Command "to provide meaningful, challenging leadership training to mid-level enlisted personnel," according to information from AFRC's Professional Development Center.

"It's a good class," Senior Airman Nathen Hornecker said. "There's a big focus on teamwork."

Airman Hornecker is a traditional Reservist in the 931st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron's electrical and environmental shop. Though the course is typically for staff and technical sergeants, "fast-track Senior Airmen" are also eligible to enroll.

Airman Hornecker, who hopes to be promoted to staff sergeant in November, said he signed up for NCOLDP in the interest of career progression. "I like all the little exercises," he said about parts of the course designed to get away from lectures and slideshows.

There is much more focus now on team-building exercises than there was when Senior Master Sgt. John Shepard became an NCOLDP facilitator 11 years ago. They are a big part of what makes the course different from other types of training, he said. Airmen are encouraged to speak freely (what is said in class stays in class, according to their "rules of engagement") and to think outside the box.

"(The course) puts them in scenarios where they can't give the textbook answer," Sergeant Shepard, a Reservist stationed at Peterson AFB, Colo., said.

Sergeant Ringer signed up for the course at the recommendation of her supervisor in the 931st Communications and Information Flight, Tech. Sgt. Alicia Bowens. The day before she and Sergeant Bowens graduated, Sergeant Ringer described the NCOLDP as "active" and "assertive."

"It makes me do some things I don't like to do," the Long Beach, Calif., native said. "It calls for getting up in front of people."

More than 60,000 Reservists, civilians, active-duty Airmen and members of other branches of the military have attended the NCOLDP since it began in 1989. Course graduates are eligible to receive two credit hours from civilian colleges, according to the Professional Development Center.

The ability to host the NCOLDP at the 931st is another sign the Group is growing toward becoming a wing. The Group's Education and Training chief, Senior Master Sgt. Pamela Summers, said plans for a class last year were abandoned because of low enrollment.

Students she talked to this year were "really enjoying" the NCOLDP, Sergeant Summers said, and there are high hopes to continue offering the course at the 931st annually.