42d ABW Flight Leadership Summit: building tomorrow’s leaders
For the 42d ABW, investing in flight-level leadership means developing leaders at the point where mission requirements are translated into daily operations. Flight leaders work closest to the Airmen executing those missions, giving them a direct role in identifying problems, developing their teams and turning commanders’ priorities into action.
“Historically, flights were groups of aircraft organized to execute a mission. Whether it was two or four aircraft, or in World War II, 50 B-17s conducting a bombing mission over Europe, the flight was led by a flight commander or flight leader,” said Col. Adam Rudolphi, 42d ABW deputy commander. “That’s how the Air Force has chosen to subdivide and organize itself, and it’s important to understand what it means to be a flight. It’s the Air Force’s collective maneuver unit.”
The flight has evolved from formations of aircraft executing combat missions to teams of Airmen executing missions across the Air Force. While the mission sets have changed, the flight remains a critical level of command where leadership decisions directly influence people, processes and mission execution.
At the flight level, leaders are close to the technical details of their mission and the Airmen responsible for executing it. That proximity gives them an opportunity to identify friction points, receive feedback and make decisions while building the experience needed for greater responsibilities at the squadron and group levels.
“Good leaders look across the squadron and ask what problems their squadron and group commanders are trying to solve,” said Chief Master Sgt. Demetris Booth, 42d ABW command chief.
Booth emphasized that flight leaders must understand how their teams contribute to the larger mission rather than focusing solely on their immediate responsibilities.
“There’s a lot of investment the Air Force is making in you in a short period of time because what you do for your team is important,” Booth said. “But you need to start looking across your squadron and thinking about what your squadron commander’s problems are and how you’re helping solve them.”
That broader perspective requires flight leaders to understand both their team’s capabilities and the problems facing the organization around them. Developing that understanding at the flight level allows leaders to practice decision-making and problem-solving before their responsibilities expand.
Maj. Gen. Lyle Drew, Air War College commander, described leadership development as a skill that requires deliberate practice.
“People need reps and sets to understand how to lead. It doesn’t just happen through divine intervention,” Drew said. “You have to be creative in introducing complexity and stress so people can learn how to lead under pressure.”
For flight leaders, that means deliberately creating opportunities for Airmen to make decisions, respond to changing conditions and operate outside their normal routines.
“You should never show up to a PT test thinking you have to be on your best day to pass. You need to train to pass on your worst day,” Drew said. “The same applies to leadership.”
The same principle applies to mission readiness. Leaders cannot wait until a real-world contingency to determine whether their teams can operate under pressure. By introducing complexity during routine operations, flight leaders can identify weaknesses, develop decision-making skills and build confidence before those skills are needed in a crisis.
“Right now, you’re at the point that you will understand the mission at its most detailed level, and you’re going to be the closest to the people that execute that mission,” Drew said.
That proximity also makes the flight level a critical development point for future commanders. As leaders progress, they often become responsible for broader organizations and have less opportunity to remain immersed in the technical details of daily operations.
“This is the proving ground to determine how well you are positioned to do the next level of leadership in whatever journey you’re on,” Drew said.
Developing leaders at the flight level gives them a controlled environment to receive feedback, make difficult decisions and learn from mistakes before those decisions affect larger organizations. Those experiences establish the foundation leaders need as they move from leading individual teams to leading squadrons and groups.
“If you want to sit in the big chair, you’ve got to act it, and you’ve got to execute it,” Drew said. “Everyone wants their picture on the wall, everyone wants the duty title or the raise that comes with it, until you actually have to do it, because leadership is uncomfortable.”
For the 42d ABW, that development is ultimately about more than preparing individual leaders for their next position. Flight leaders are often the first level of leadership Airmen experience directly, making them critical to how feedback, accountability, standards and care for people are practiced across the wing.
That responsibility is grounded in the Air Force’s core values: Integrity First, Service Before Self and Excellence in All We Do. Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, the 15th Chief of Staff of the Air Force, formally codified the values in the Jan. 1, 1997, publication of the “United States Air Force Core Values,” establishing a common standard for Airmen to apply in their daily decisions.
The 42d Air Base Wing continues to prioritize leadership development at the flight level, investing in leaders who directly shape how Airmen develop, teams perform and missions are executed. By providing opportunities to make decisions, receive feedback and lead through complexity, the wing is strengthening the leadership foundation needed to execute today’s mission and prepare Airmen for greater responsibilities across tomorrow’s force.
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