Todays Change Tomorrows Chance

  • Published
  • By (U.S. Air Force article by: Airman 1st Class Colleen Coulthard)
  • 33rd FW
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  

In early May of 2021, the 33rd Fighter Wing’s senior enlisted personnel developed a monthly briefing to bring the broad lessons of Air Force Doctrine, the National Defense Strategy, and key intelligence to the enlisted personnel supporting the 33rd FW.

 “The goal of ‘Tomorrow’s Airman Today’ is to help you realize how real the threat is. This presentation lets you see and hear that we have to change our military culture to encourage workplace communication and cooperation beyond the unit level” said 33rd Fighter Wing Command Chief, Chief Master Sgt. Shane Rose.

 “It started with Chief Rose coming to leadership and asking us to get our Airmen ready for the Air Force of tomorrow,'' said Master Sgt. Andrew P. Dobbe, specialist section chief of the 60th Aircraft Maintenance Unit.

Although the initiative is still rolling out across the 33rd FW it has already been adopted by the 96th Test Wing, and been lauded by Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Joanne S. Bass.

 “Often in the military you have to wait on the bureaucracy, on top-down guidance, but what I realized back in 2018 was that this isn't happening, '' said Rose. “We are following the intent of accelerating change or lose; we're not waiting.”

Whether it is teaching the wing about the history of maintainers and pilots in WWII, the importance of service before self, or what to be prepared for as our warfighting capabilities shift, Rose and Dobbe are leading from the front.

The monthly presentation focuses on yesterday’s tactics and resources that dominated the field of battle, and how in today's fight we are more commonly deploying into situations with less resources and amenities. In these Agile Combat Employment missions, multi-capable Airmen, who have a wide breadth of skill, are the key to adapting to future challenges.

“The solutions of yesterday aren’t going to support the conflicts of tomorrow,'' said Dobbe. “But building multi-capable Airmen and teaching our people what it means to be an Airmen first before a specialty code, helps us accomplish that mission.”

Rose and Dobbe, both with over 17 years in service, maintain that at the core of this initiative, prepping for the reality ahead, and educating about our adversaries capabilities inspires comradery and dedication.

“We requested anonymous feedback and what we received was great,” said Dobbe. “A lot of the responses were ‘why did we not get this before!?’

In the feedback people were asked what their favorite part of the briefing was; here is what the 33rd FW had to say;

“The ‘slap in the face’ effect that was due to most people not knowing this information.”

“My favorite part was finally understanding the role I play in the bigger picture and what the real threats are.”

Rose and Dobbe, with the help of the 100 Nomads who attended, aim to inspire the understanding and mental shift necessary to launch the 33rd FW into the future