Speed mentoring hustles info to Airmen

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jenna Sarvinski
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The room was filled with the sound of success as more than 30 NCOs and senior NCOs set the tone for a speed mentoring event Oct. 15 at Luke Air Force Base.

Tech. Sgt. Mark Adams, 56th Component Maintenance Squadron jet engine intermediate maintenance assistant section chief, said he wanted to bring this event to Luke after seeing it done over the years at other bases across the Air Force.

"I knew I shouldn't sit on this idea any longer, so I pitched it to the executive councils of Focus 5/6 and L.E.A.D.," he said.

Once the idea was set in motion, the two councils worked together to make it happen and invited the mentors to the monthly meeting for the Luke Empowering Airmen Development, the council for Airmen E1-E4.

Today's world moves at a high rate of speed, sometimes forcing people to go from one topic to another quicker than they'd like just so they can take in a little bit of everything. The speed mentoring event fell in line with that idea, and offered Airmen the chance to sit down with leaders from across the wing for a minute-and-a-half-long session of mentoring before moving to the next mentor.

Among the many topics discussed were professional development, enlisted performance reports, finance, commissioning and attitude. The topics were as broad as the group selected to mentor, which brought a unique opportunity to gain insight from a variety of viewpoints and Air Force specialty codes.

"I got a lot out of this event. There was a lot of information in a short time, and I would definitely recommend it to all Airmen," said Senior Airman Hunter Knupp, 56th Equipment Maintenance Squadron avionics technician.

Not only did the event benefit the Airmen but the mentors as well.

"Each generation learns from and teaches the previous one. We should never stop growing and learning," Adams said.

Amid the sea of mentoring was a table where Airmen had the opportunity to ask questions and talk one-on-one with Chief Master Sgt. John Mazza, 56th Fighter Wing command chief.

"I'm going to gain as much from them as they'll get from me," he said. "It's all about perspective, and I'm interested to hear their thoughts and learn more about what is important to them right now."

In reference to the future of speed mentoring at Luke Air Force Base, Adams said, "We aren't the first to do this by any means. Yet, I hope to see this as L.E.A.D.'s inaugural speed mentoring session and hopefully something we can bring throughout the wing for all of our Airmen."