SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Two members of the 932nd Airlift Wing were recent graduates of the Airman Leadership School held at Scott Air Force Base. Senior Airman Haley Merkel, Aerospace Medical Technician from the 932nd Medical Group, and Senior Airman Melissa Estevez, 932nd Public Affairs Specialist, who both finished the program this summer and helped run the graduation. After the event, Estevez was asked her thoughts on some of the latest lines of effort that the Air Force Reserve is concentrating on throughout the coming year.
Line of Effort 1: Prioritize Strategic Depth and Accelerate Readiness
Message: The Air Force Reserve plays an integral role in global and national security. Our
military cannot operate successfully without Reserve Citizen Airmen.
"In Airman Leadership we learned more about the different commands during the Joint
Warfighter segment. The Air Force Reserve Command augments the active duty force to ensure
that a wide variety of missions are being completed. As Citizen Airmen, we support nuclear deterrence operations, air, space and cyberspace
superiority, command and control, global integrated intelligence surveillance reconnaissance,
global precision attack, special operations, rapid global mobility and personnel recovery.
Line of Effort 2: Develop Resilient Leaders
Message: The key to resilient leadership in the Air Force Reserve is generating power in
challenging situations and building the trust necessary for team cohesion for the successful
defense of our Nation’s freedoms.
"During Airman Leadership we spoke a lot about resiliency and the importance of building trust
between our subordinates and us. Suicide, assault, sexual assault, and interpersonal violence are
serious issues that require responses from leaders. As leaders we must learn about the tools and
resources available to help our Airmen and Wingmen prevent, intervene and respond to these
issues in order to build and retain a powerful force," said Estevez.
Line of Effort 3: Reform the Organization
Message: The Air Force Reserve will continue to explore innovative ways to leverage industry
and/or civilian talents to implement best practices and discover new ways of operating better.
"As Citizen Airmen we have an advantage where we have skills from our civilian jobs that are not
always related to the job we fill in the Air Force Reserve. By having knowledge in different areas we can
help our Wingmen learn about more effective ways that have been implemented in the civilian
force and apply that to our military reserve jobs. This works both ways; you can also learn skills in
your military career that you can apply to your civilian job," Estevez added.
Congratulations to all our new ALS graduates leading the way and thinking about the future challenges in the Air Force Reserve.