AU-2 Guidelines for Command - The Air University - Air Force Link

283 Pages·2008·3.71 MB·English

AIR UNIVERSITY

AU-2
Guidelines for Command
A Handbook on the Leadership of Airmen
for Air Force Squadron Commanders
Prepared by
Air Command and Staff College

Air University Press
Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama

February 2008
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ISBN 978-1-58566-144-2
Disclaimer
Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely
those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Air University, the
United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other US government agency.
Cleared for public release: distribution unlimited.
Air University Press
131 West Shumacher Avenue
Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5962
http://aupress.maxwell.af.mil
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Contents
Chapter Page
DISCLAIMER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
PREFACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
1 tAkINg COMMAND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What Is Command? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Becoming Aware of Responsibilities . . 5
Preparing for Command with
Commanders Connection . . . . . . . . . 7
Making the Most of Your
Preparatory time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
the Change of Command Process. . . . 10
Making the Right First Impression . . . 13
key Leadership Positions within
Your Squadron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Familiarizing Yourself with Base
Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Squadron goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Your First Commander’s Call . . . . . . . 33
Assessing Your Squadron’s Strengths
and Weaknesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Making a Difference: Leaving a
Legacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Advice to Commanders. . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2 LEADINg AND DEVELOPINg AIRMEN. . 43
Leading versus Managing. . . . . . . . . . 44
Leadership by Walking Around. . . . . . 46
Leading in the Midst of Change . . . . . 48
Enlisted Specialty training. . . . . . . . . 49
Enlisted Professional Military
 Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Enlisted Promotions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Enlisted Assignments. . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Officer Professional Military
Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Officer Promotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
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CONtENtS
Chapter Page
Officer Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Leading Civilians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Officer and Enlisted Evaluations. . . . . 75
Awards and Decorations. . . . . . . . . . . 78
Building Future Leaders. . . . . . . . . . . 80
Squadron Mentorship Program. . . . . . 83
3 COMMANDINg EXPEDItIONARY
FORCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Overview of the Air and Space
Expeditionary Force . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Air and Space Expeditionary Force
key Roles and Responsibilities. . . . . 88
Unit type Code Overview . . . . . . . . . . 92
Air and Space Expeditionary Force
Reporting tool Management . . . . . . 94
Status of Resources and training
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Air and Space Expeditionary Force
training and Exercises . . . . . . . . . . 100
Online Air and Space Expeditionary
Force Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Shortfalls, Waivers, and Reclamas . . . 106
First Seven Days of Deployed
Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Post-Deployment Issues and
Concerns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4 COMMANDER’S PROgRAMS. . . . . . . . . 117
Safety Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Operational Risk Management . . . . . . 121
traffic Safety Program . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Security Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Antiterrorism and Force Protection
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Environmental Management. . . . . . . . 135
Air Force Emergency Management
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Nuclear Weapons Personnel
Reliability Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
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CONtENtS
Chapter Page
Military Equal Opportunity and
treatment Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Drug testing and the Urinalysis
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Dormitory Management Program . . . . 149
Fitness Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Leave, Passes, Compensatory time,
and Permissive temporary Duty
Assignment Programs . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Unit Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
government Purchase Card
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
government travel Card Program. . . . 168
Individualized Newcomer treatment
and Orientation Program. . . . . . . . . 170
Informal Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Commander’s Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
5 MAINtAININg StANDARDS AND
ADMINIStERINg DISCIPLINE . . . . . . . . 177
Nonjudicial Disciplinary Options . . . . 178
Courts-Martial Charges . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Pretrial Confinement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Arrest by Civilian Authorities . . . . . . . 187
Rights of Suspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Investigations and Inquiries . . . . . . . . 192
Searches and Inspections. . . . . . . . . . 193
Line-of-Duty Determination . . . . . . . . 195
Report of Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Absent Without Leave. . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Unprofessional Relationships . . . . . . . 201
Homosexual Conduct. . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Standards of Ethical Conduct. . . . . . . 205
Financial Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Protest and Dissident Activities . . . . . 208
Base Driving Privileges. . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Airman Reassignment Restrictions
(Deferments) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Selective Reenlistment . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
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CONtENtS
Chapter Page
6 AIRMEN AND FAMILY ASSIStANCE. . . . 215
Leading Airmen and Families in
times of Distress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Air Force Readiness Edge and the
Integrated Delivery System . . . . . . . 217
key Spouse Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
American Red Cross Resources. . . . . . 221
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention
and treatment Program . . . . . . . . . 222
Exceptional Family Member Program
and the Special Needs Assignment
Consideration Process. . . . . . . . . . . 224
Health and Wellness Center . . . . . . . . 225
Mental Health Flight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Chaplain Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Critical Incidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Death of a Unit Member . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Violence Involving a Unit Member. . . . 235
7 COMPLIANCE AND INSPECtIONS. . . . . 239
Preparing for Inspections . . . . . . . . . . 240
Self-Inspection Program . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Readiness Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Staff Assistance Visits . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Formal Inspections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Post-Inspection Activities . . . . . . . . . . 251
Documenting and Sharing Best
Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Appendix
1 Commander’s transition Checklist . . . . 255
2 How to keep Your Boss Happy. . . . . . . . 267
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Foreword
Congratulations on your selection as a squadron commander!
As you take the guidon and say “I assume command,” you make
a commitment unlike any other in the Air Force. the authority
vested in you sets you apart from other Air Force leaders. Con-
sequently, you must exemplify the highest standards of integ-
rity, professionalism, and character. Remember, your squadron
is a direct reflection of you and your leadership.
Your role as a squadron commander is demanding and multi-
faceted. It is essential to get out of your office and connect with
your Airmen wherever their duties take them. You must build
relationships and set and enforce standards. While performing
your mission, whether at home station or deployed, your Airmen
look to you for decisiveness and direction and to provide the
necessary training and equipment. When faced with tragedy or
challenging personal strife, they turn to you for compassion and
empathy. During situations that deteriorate good order and dis-
cipline or violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ),
your Airmen expect you to take action and punish as you deem
appropriate and without bias. When the Airmen in your squad-
ron earn awards or promotions, they look forward to your praise
and recognition. Being a commander is an incredibly rewarding,
tremendous responsibility. Your assigned Airmen, civilians, and
contractors deserve your very best effort day in and day out; our
Air Force’s future depends on it.
this book, Guidelines for Command, is the result of countless
hours of research and contains the collective thoughts and les-
sons learned from many previous commanders. It has a wealth
of information to assist you during your tenure as a commander.
Use it in conjunction with your personal leadership skills, your
base’s subject-matter experts, and your fellow commanders to
lead our Airmen to new heights.
Again, congratulations and best wishes as you embark upon
the incredible journey of command!
t. MICHAEL MOSELEY
general, USAF
Chief of Staff
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Preface
Squadron command is often described as the best job in the
Air Force. It is also one of the most demanding. Commanders are
entrusted with incredible power—in terms of legal authority and
personal influence—and it is critical you honor that trust by
commanding effectively with balance, purpose, and dedication.
As the commander, it is your responsibility to set the tone,
establish priorities, and take the lead. As you meet your daily
challenges, remember that ultimately command is not about
you or how skilled you are in your Air Force specialty. Command
is about accomplishing the mission and taking care of your Air-
men. this guide will help you on your way.
there is no “all-encompassing” checklist or “how-to guide” for
command—no manual could hope to be so comprehensive. How
you lead your squadron depends on your experience, ideas,
goals, values, and willingness to learn. Your past performance
has demonstrated that you are up to the task—if not, you would
not have been selected for command. Even so, you will not know
everything before you start, and the job will always be a learning
endeavor. You can, however, take advice and learn from other
commanders’ experiences to make you a better, more effective
leader. that is the intent of this publication—to advance the
practice of command. this book, in conjunction with the Com-
manders Connection, the professional forum for squadron com-
manders, does just that.
the following articles and tips are not regulations you must
follow, nor should they be your sole source of information. they
are only guides based on the experiences and lessons learned
from a diverse group of Air Force leaders. Used properly and
supplemented with other sources, these guides help prepare you
to effectively meet the needs of the mission, while taking care of
your people.
We hope you find the information here useful. thoughtfully
applied, it will make you a more effective commander. Obviously
there are many programs, experiences, and issues we could not
capture in one document. to remedy this problem, we encour-
age you to join the Commanders Connection (https://acsc.sqcc
.maxwell.af.mil), where you will find an up-to-date electronic ver-
sion of this book and a forum to ask questions, share your knowl-
edge, and receive advice from current and former squadron-level
leaders.
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PREFACE
We greatly appreciate the support of the following Air Univer-
sity organizations located at Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Air Com-
mand and Staff College (ACSC), Ira C. Eaker College for Profes-
sional Development, Commanders’ Professional Development
School, and Air University Press for their assistance in making
this revised publication a reality. Without their support this
project would not have been possible.
good luck in your command!
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