Airman graduates Army leadership course

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Marissa Tucker
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --   In the Air Force, young senior airmen preparing to be staff sergeants attend Airman Leadership School, which normally includes several hours of classroom instruction, uniform inspections and practical knowledge on how to be a supervisor. In the Army, before Soldiers become an NCO, they go back to the basics.

The Warrior Leadership Course at Fort Bragg, N.C., the U.S. Army's NCO academy, graduated its first Airman recently. Senior Airman Rafael Figueroa, 4th Security Forces Squadron patrolman, was selected to attend the course because of his outstanding leadership skills and work ethic, said Senior Master Sgt. Dave Houtz, 4th SFS superintendent.

"Senior Airman Figueroa was selected to attend this course because he is a stand-out Airman among his peers," Houtz said. "Because the Air Force and the Army work so closely together downrange, the course was a great opportunity for him to learn the Army style of leadership and bring back both good and bad points to prepare him because he is a future leader."

Figueroa, who is from Racine, Wis., said the course was a sort of "back to basics" for him, as everything from when and what he ate to when he slept was scrutinized and regulated by the course cadre.

"We had to do everything a certain way and we had to call each other out if we saw each other slacking," Figueroa said. "While the instructors set a lot of standards, we had to take it upon ourselves to enforce them."

During the course, most days began between 4 and 5 a.m. with a strenuous physical training session and various classroom courses including leadership skills, Army history and standards of dress and appearance. While the course is tailored for Soldiers, Figueroa said it was very helpful to learn the basis of Army leadership to better understand how they work.

"At times, the Air Force seems drastically different from the Army because of the way we operate, but because we are all about accomplishing the mission, we can get on the same page and work together," he said.

Figueroa plans to progress in his Air Force career and looks forward to attending more courses to learn about the sister services. He hopes that Airman will be able to attend the course.

"It is definitely different from what most (Airmen) are accustomed to," he said. "While it opened up my eyes to many things, I also learned to really appreciate the Air Force more."