Tinker ALS graduates ‘all in’ Published Feb. 19, 2010 By John Stuart Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Whether you're aware or not, Tinker is in the business of making leaders. And fortunately for the junior enlisted on base, the cadre at the Airman Leadership School take their business seriously. With each class that graduates from the Tinker ALS, another group of capable senior airmen and junior noncommissioned officers are released back to their home units with a bevy of leadership skills in tow. ALS Class 10C, which graduated 53 individuals Feb. 11, was no exception. With the unofficial motto "Class 10C is all in" -- a quote taken in part from General Norton Schwartz -- the Airmen learned the fundamentals of what it takes to be a leader in today's Air Force during the intensive 24-day course. Students are taught to find their own style of leadership throughout the course and are encouraged to pick a career field that inspires them so they naturally want to lead others with similar interests, said Master Sgt. Jim Peters, commandant of Tinker's ALS. "I think everybody has the capability of being a leader," Sergeant Peters said. "It doesn't matter what you're good at. But if you never find what you're good at you're never going to be a leader." While the ALS cadre have the noble task of teaching the leaders of tomorrow, they also mentor Airmen toward more fitting career fields within the Air Force as needed. Above all, instructors try to reignite their students' passion for the Air Force, reminding them once again why they wanted to serve their country "Into the Blue." For Sergeant Peters, this rekindling came 17 years into his Air Force career when he cross-trained to become an instructor. His zeal for service returned, and since November 2008 he's been putting that fervor into the some 250-300 Airmen who course through the ALS halls each year. "I wanted to go into a job that let me express my passion and my love for the Air Force and maybe spark some of that in others," Sergeant Peters said. "I saw a lot of Airmen and NCOs who didn't have the passion for the Air Force anymore. They forget why they're here and what's important -- the protection of our country and the tradition of the Air Force." Students of class 10C performed a service project with Feed the Children during the course and took a donation for a Haiti earthquake relief fund -- usual service accomplishments of ALS classes. The ultimate satisfaction for a teacher is to see his students go on to accomplish great things. Sergeant Peters is fully aware that the students at ALS will be future senior NCOs and chiefs. He relishes this privilege of steering the future while relating a final thought on what it takes to be a leader. "Being a good leader is also about being a good follower," Sergeant Peters explained. "And it's also communication, saying 'I don't have what it takes to do that but I will follow someone who does have it.'" Graduates 552nd Aircaft Maintenance Squadron Senior Airman Corine Barton Senior Airman William Bowman Senior Airman Joshua Falcon Senior Airman Jonathan Gunther Senior Airman Jerimiah Johnson Senior Airman Miguel Martinez Senior Airman Lance McClellan Senior Airman Richard Nazario Staff Sgt. Christian Polach Staff Sgt. Chad Presley Senior Airman Brian Roerden 552nd Maintenance Squadron Senior Airman Michael Clemens Senior Airman Nicholas Kedrowski Staff Sgt. Daniel Lawson Senior Airman Matthew Parker Senior Airman Shaolung Ping Senior Airman Todd Sisson Seniro Airman Brian Roerden 34th Combat Communications Squadron Senior Airman Adam Benton Senior Airman Robert Chunn Senior Airman Christopher Falicon Senior Airman Joshua Johnson Senior Airman Anthony Luckert Senior Airman Brittany Ramsey 32nd Combat Communications Squadron Senior Airman Andrew Brower Senior Airman Dustin Wiley 552nd Maintenance Operations Squadron Senior Airman Joshua Bennett Senior Airman Alexander Damens Senior Airman Stephanie Selmon 963rd Airborne Air Control Squadron Senior Airman Charita Ellison Senior Airman Daniel Hamblin Senior Airman Joshua Higgins 72nd Security Forces Squadron Senior Airman Willie Hart Staff Sgt. Timothy Jones Senior Airman James Williams 966th Airborne Air Control Squadron Senior Airman Natalie Jimenez Senior Airman Henry Moreno Staff Sgt. Joseph Seigler 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron Senior Airman Geoffrey Joseph Senior Airman Dijon Landers 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron Staff Sgt. Aaron Harris 72nd Logistics Readines Squadron Senior Airman James Burrow 72nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron Senior Airman Michael Huller Senior Airman Nazish Naqvi Senior Airman Jeffrey Sison 72nd Medical Support Squadron Senior Airman Joshua Lemke Senior Airman Michael McCabe Senior Airman Jeremy Stover 960th Airborne Air Control Squadron Senior Airman Jeffrey Miller 552nd Operations Support Squadron Senior Airman Adam McDowell 552nd Air Control Wing Senior Airman Alicia Poindexter 72nd Dental Squadron Senior Airman Dianne Schaff 72nd Comptroller Squadron Senior Airman April Song OC-ALC/JA Senior Airman Nicole Strauss