Academy welcomes senior leaders to speak at NCLS

U.S. Air Force and Space Force senior leaders speak to a packed house at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s 31st National Character and Leadership Symposium Feb. 23, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley)

By Katherine Spessa
U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force senior leaders participated in a senior leader panel during the National Character and Leadership Symposium held at Arnold Hall here Feb. 23, 2024.

The cadet-moderated panel welcomed U.S Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin, U.S. Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Michael A. Guetlein, the Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Joanne Bass and the Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John Bentivegna to the stage to answer a series of questions sent in by NCLS attendees.

Academy Cadet 1st Class Ruben Banks posed the questions to each panel member in turn, with queries spanning the spectrum of their responsibility.

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Ruben Banks speaks with Chief Master Sgt. Of the Space Force John Bentivegna after a panel discussion during the 31st National Character and Leadership Symposium Feb. 23, 2024 at the Arnold Hall Theater, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rayna Grace)

U.S. prepares for the Great Power Competition

Following Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s début of upcoming changes to better posture the Air Force and Space Force in an era of Great Power Competition during a conference held in Denver on Feb. 12, 2024, it is no surprise it remained a prominent theme of the discussion.

“There has been more change in the past 24 months than I have seen in my whole career,” said Guetlein, whose 34-year-long career has spanned two services and several conflicts. “We are in the midst of pivoting the entire Department of the Air Force 180 degrees.”

According to Bass, Airmen and Guardians can expect even more change in the next four to six years as the Defense Department shifts from the military she joined in the early 1990’s, which focused on the warfighting domains of air, land and sea, to now maintain dominance in the additional warfighting domains of space, cyberspace and information.

“We’re really just accelerating to meet the environment where it is,” said Allvin.

Key among the near- and long-term initiatives toward this end is keeping and recruiting talented Airmen and Guardians to help reshape, refocus and reoptimize the Air Force and Space Force.

Mission command and leveraging diversity

In preparation for the Great Power Conflict, the Department of the Air Force announced in August 2023 its shift toward mission command, the practice of conducting military operations through decentralized execution.

The shift to mission command is now being incorporated into the Academy’s curriculum and trained at all levels of the Department of the Air Force.

“I grew up in the waning days of the Cold War, and I remember; I was in Germany when the [Berlin] wall came down,” said Allvin, a 1986 Academy graduate. “That is not the future conflict. Your communications will likely be disrupted; you’ll move around in a small team.

“You have to understand the overall concept of the mission because there may be times you have to deviate from what you were told because the situation has changed.”

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin speaks with Academy cadets Feb. 23, 2024. Allvin visited the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. to speak during the National Character and Leadership Symposium. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rayna Grace)

The key to this, all agreed, is to develop team dynamics, problem-solving and mental agility.

“I don’t need the Academy and ROTC detachments to build me robots,” said Guetlein. “I need you guys to be thinking adversaries. I need you to be agile, I need you to be risk takers, I need you to know how to operate as a team. I need you to operate with unity of effort because you may not have unity of command.

“Each person must bring value to the fight,” Guetlein continued. “I need you to figure out how to leverage the diversity of your team: diversity of thought, diversity of education, diversity of background, diversity of opinion.”

Bass, who credits her uniquely diverse background to growing up a military child in Department of Defense Schools, encouraged audience members to consider the high-performing teams they had been on.

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Joanne Bass speaks with National Character and Leadership Symposium audience members Feb. 23, 2024 at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley)

“It is a fact that high-performing teams are diverse teams,” she said. “Value each member on our team for what they bring to better the team.”

Questions from the audience

Following the discussion, the moderator opened the floor to questions from the audience. A veritable stampede to the microphones ensued, eliciting laughter from audience and panel members alike.

“They’re not shy of questions,” Allvin joked.

Naomi Nunez, a student at the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School and prior-enlisted medic, appreciated the lessons in leadership experience she gained from the panel.

“I feel like they’ve really honed in on what I’ve learned and lived by beforehand [as prior enlisted],” Nunez said. The most important thing “is just taking care of one another. That’s leadership.”

Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, U.S. Air Force Academy superintendent, takes a picture with senior leaders and cadets following a panel discussion at the 31st National Character and Leadership Symposium Feb. 23, 2024 at the Academy in Colorado. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rayna Grace)

A highlight of the discussion for Nunez was the response from Allvin and Bass following a question from a fellow attendee about the challenges of mental health care in the military. Both leaders highlighted the spectrum of resilience and posit that it is the answer to alleviating mental health struggles in both the military and the nation.

“When I talk to our mental health providers, they tell me that out of every 10 Airmen that come to mental health, only two need clinical mental health support; the other eight just need to know someone cares,” Bass said. “There is a shortage of mental health providers, but there is not a shortage of leaders and wingmen. We have to embrace community and talk to one another.”

“It’s not just a military crisis; it’s a national mental health crisis,” Allvin continued. “But the military has a history of leading the way on social change and I think we can on this as well. Between the two people who need clinical care and the eight people who need someone to care, we need to bridge that gap.”

NCLS is the Academy’s flagship event and is open to the public. Each year, the forum welcomes speakers and participants from all walks of life. The three-day conference features presenters that include international scholars, military leaders, corporate executives and world-class athletes. The senior leader panel offered perspectives on leadership to all those in attendance, local and visiting students; business and community leaders; and current and former cadets alike.