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ALS instructors live by values they teach

  • Published
  • By Emily Smith
  • 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  To some, Airman Leadership School may be just another acronym to roll off the tongue. But to the ALS flight instructors, it is so much more. To Staff Sgt. Robert Edwards, it is a lifestyle. 

Sergeant Edwards has been at Pope since December 2003 when he was first assigned to the 23rd Maintenance Squadron. Two years later, he applied and was accepted as an ALS instructor. His position as an ALS instructor is a four-year controlled tour teaching Professional Military Education (PME). 

"I attended Airman Leadership School here in 2005 and was very impressed with the course," Sergeant Edwards said. "It helped me greatly as a brand-new supervisor and NCO. When I later learned of an instructor position opening on staff, I jumped at the chance to apply. I work alongside the best NCOs on base." 

ALS is a five-week Air Education and Training Command course, which takes senior airmen and teaches them the skills they need to become staff sergeants and proficient NCOs. The students are selected based on criteria such as line number for promotion to staff sergeant, time in service, time in grade or those slated for overseas short tours where it's likely that they will be promoted while they're gone. 

"The ALS commandant works with the organization's First Sergeant to get the most eligible students into classes as quickly as possible," Sergeant Edwards said. 

Airmen know that they can't graduate without their instructors, but few may know just how appreciative instructors are of their students. 

"It's an amazing privilege," Sergeant Edwards said. "I'm very humbled by the massive amount of trust and responsibility put in me by both the schoolhouse and the students. Knowing my actions can not only impact my students, but also all of their potential subordinates, means I must always give my best efforts so that that impact is positive. The students and those they'll supervise deserve absolutely nothing else." 

In the two short years that Sergeant Edwards has been assigned to the Chief Master Sergeant Louis Williams Airman Leadership School, he and his fellow instructors have graduated 15 classes totaling 534 students. The most recent class of 29 students graduated July 18. Upon graduating, Airmen are immediately able to be first-line supervisors. 

Tech Sgt. Herbert Faircloth is also an ALS instructor and has been teaching for 5 years.
More than just the promotional opportunities, Sergeant Faircloth hopes that graduates walk away with core values. "I hope our students have learned the importance of showing compassion for human beings," he said. "I hope that ultimately when they graduate they are a better person than before they attended, both physically, emotionally and spiritually, and with the skills to supervise and lead work center teams in accomplishing the mission." 

Because the instructors are so invested in their students, they walk away with something too. 

"I've gained knowledge of how the Supervisor affects their subordinates' decisions within the Air Force," Sergeant Faircloth said. "I've also had multiple students call me back after graduation thanking me for the tools they now have in developing people. That is priceless." 

For more information on enrollment and classes, contact Airman Leadership School at 394-4374.