Airmen graduates ready for future leadership Published Oct. 29, 2010 By Brandice J. Armstrong Staff Writer TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- A leader's quality is not based on rank, but rather character. That message was reiterated by Maj. Gen. David Gillett, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center commander, at the Oct. 21 Airman Leadership School graduation banquet. Held in the Tinker Club ballroom, guest speaker General Gillett recalled an incident in which a staff sergeant became a leader. He also offered guidance to the 11-A class. "As you go out into your jobs and continue with your careers, remember you are experts in what you do and we need you to continue to do that," the general said. "Second of all, as a noncommissioned officer, you have to be accountable for your actions and for what your subordinates do." General Gillett said in 1999 during Operation Allied Force, he was stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. During that time, Ramstein Air Base relied heavily on Aviano Air Base, Italy, which had hundreds of aircraft on the base. General Gillett, then a colonel, said what has stayed with him after all these years is a conversation he had with the base's wing commander, a brigadier general. During the operation, the commander flew an F-16 Fighting Falcon and during a pivotal moment in battle, he attempted to drop a bomb, but nothing happened. The bomb wouldn't release. On his way back to base, the commander realized the reason the bomb didn't drop was because someone in his unit made a mistake. General Gillett said the commander was livid and his anger grew as he sat through the de-brief. That is until the load crew chief, a staff sergeant, approached the commander during the de-brief and told him he accepted responsibility for his team's actions. "The wing commander told me at that point all the anger drained out because he realized he had a tremendous asset here who was going to be one of the great leaders of the Air Force; no matter what his rank was, he was already a great leader," General Gillett said. "There's another lesson there and that is the wing commander could have chowed down on him anyway and could have ruined what was a really great leader. But, he didn't do it, because he recognized the value of what he had." General Gillett said he doesn't know the staff sergeant's name, but that's not what is important. "I've carried that story with me since I heard it. It's affected me ever since," he said. "You young leaders, take responsibility, be accountable for your actions and when somebody makes a mistake, recognize that may be something that makes them a better person." Graduates are: Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Senior Airman Bailee Smith 3rd Combat Communications Support Squadron Staff Sgt. Gary Brown Senior Airman Chris Hendricks 31st Combat Communications Squadron Staff Sgt. Mark Sager 33rd Combat Communications Squadron Senior Airman Olanrewaju Gamu 34th Combat Communications Squadron Senior Airman Richard Fulcher 552nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Senior Airman David Mock Senior Airman Garrett Rhodes Senior Airman Daniel Shoemaker Senior Airman Derek Swett 552nd Maintenance Squadron Senior Airman Jarrett Bowling Senior Airman Kevin Hoey, Senior Airman Jerame Kornegay Senior Airman Tara Labranche Senior Airman Antonique Stewart Senior Airman Benjamin Taitano Senior Airman Jaime Torres 552nd Maintenance Operations Squadron Senior Airman Gregory Buford Senior Airman Timothy Steiner 552nd Operations Support Squadron Senior Airman Phillip Hawthorne 552nd Training Squadron Staff Sgt. Calvin Douglas 72nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron Senior Airman Jessica Nunamann Senior Airman Daniel Stevens 72nd Dental Squadron Senior Airman Elizabeth Buford 72nd Operations Support Squadron Staff Sgt. Sean Doyle Senior Airman Angela Huguley 72nd Security Forces Squadron Senior Airman Renee Adkins Senior Airman Edrianne Flores-Tullis Senior Airman Lisa Robinson 960th Airborne Air Control Squadron Senior Airman Joshua Chase Senior Airman Teresa McElroy 963rd Airborne Air Control Squadron Staff Sgt. Franciszek Gosik Senior Airman Taylor Kelling 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron Senior Airman Michelle Bondi Senior Airman Ashley Hart 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron Senior Airman Shaun Camp Senior Airman Brian Mitchell Senior Airman Daniel Morris 966th Airborne Air Control Squadron Senior Airman John Ridgway Senior Airman Laura Surprenant Senior Airman Christopher Sweatman Senior Airman Angela Vaca