South Carolina Wing members who draw on their military leadership experiences in serving as Civil Air Patrol noncommissioned officers gathered Jan. 17-19 at Monks for their annual weekend of networking and discussing how to best support wing and squadron operations and grow as individual professionals and a guiding community.
The NCOs spent their Saturday sharing perspectives and applicable training to best follow their roles of directing, inspecting, and correcting fellow CAP volunteers.
“Noncommissioned officers in Civil Air Patrol are what we make them,” Col. James Brogan, South Carolina Wing commander, told the gathering.
“That’s what I love about this organization: There is not a textbook,” said Senior Master Sgt. Bill Jackson, South Carolina Wing senior enlisted leader and character development instructor. “We are smart human beings who have led people before.”
Jackson and his fellow NCOs:
participated in facilitated discussions on mentorship, leadership, instruction, and the difference between those three tasks;
shared anecdotes of successes and the failures to be learned from;
clarified the wing commander’s vision for his NCO corps;
identified levels and applicable situations for training intensity;
and standardized the process of progressive discipline.
This year’s group reflected diverse perspectives and experiences, representing multiple military branches and both the active-duty and veterans sectors. Each member was treated with the CAP core value of respect and brought a distinct addition to the wing NCO corps’ forward momentum by voicing their thoughts.
Participating NCOs were:
South Carolina Wing Headquarters — Senior Master Sgts. Bill Jackson, wing NCO adviser, and C. Dan McManus, assistant wing NCO adviser and Mid-Atlantic Region assistant NCO adviser
Coastal Charleston Composite Squadron — Senior Master Sgt. Veston Brock, Tech. Sgt. Matthew Vermette, and Staff Sgt. Karlyn Gilmore
Lexington Composite Squadron — Senior Master Sgt. Steve Fox
_____Rachel PakenasAssistant Public Affairs OfficerSouth Carolina Wing
