F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- New and incoming flight commanders across the 90th Missile Wing attended a leadership course on F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, over the week of Feb. 20-23, 2024.
The Flight Commander Leadership Course prepared newly appointed flight commanders for leadership positions. During the four day course, attendees learned about the resources available to support their units, such as financial advisors at the Military and Family Readiness Center, Chapel resources, team communication, and leading diverse units.
Maj. Kirsten McKenzie, 90th Operations Support Squadron assistant director of operations, hosted the course. She placed an emphasis on the importance of emotional intelligence, stating that it is critical for any leadership position. This core concept became the focus of several of the panels, including a segment on recognizing trauma as a supervisor.
“The biggest part of being a leader is people,” said McKenzie. “If you take care of your people, you take care of the mission. Whatever the mission is, it’s always going to be carried out by people.”
The course was voluntary and had an attendance of over 20 students, who participated in 24 panels with different guest speakers, including Col. Johnny Galbert, 90 MW commander, Col. John Hundley, 90 MW deputy commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Ru Hlongwane, 90 MW command chief.
Captain Tom Courtright, a flight commander in the 321st Missile Squadron, was one of the students in attendance. He expressed the value of the many activities he participated in throughout the course, such as breathing exercises, listening activities and simulated conversation, all centered around the recurring theme of emotional intelligence.
“I would absolutely recommend this course,” said Courtright. “I think any leader can benefit from the tools and experience offered here.”
Courtright said that he mostly looked forward to senior leader’s perspectives. He stated that he was excited to learn from base leadership and the variety of different positions that each of the leaders had held throughout their careers.
The 90 OSS plans to continue hosting the FCLC on a quarterly basis, in order to allow more opportunities for new leaders to benefit and learn from peers and leaders around the base.