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20th FW Airmen meet with new top NCO

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Krystal M. Jeffers
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Chief Master Sgt. James Wilkerson, 20th Fighter Wing command chief, met with Airmen at the base theater here, July 13, 2012.

"An enlisted call," Wilkerson said, "is to present the senior enlisted perspective of the (wing) commander's message and intent regarding mission, people, and infrastructure, while soliciting feedback and directly answering questions from our Airmen."

"The purpose is for everyone to gain general knowledge," he went on. "It also eliminates or clears up rumors, miscommunication, and miss-perceptions, (better than) emails, Facebook, and Twitter."

The enlisted call included the National Anthem sung by Airman Nichole Sikorski, 20th Fighter Wing photojournalist, a motivational video, a public service announcement from the sponsors of the enlisted call, a presenter who spoke about the 1974 Privacy Act and a speech by Wilkerson.

"I think all enlisted calls are beneficial because they give information to Airmen in one forum," said Staff Sgt. Christy Hardy, 20th Communications Squadron NCO in charge of wing information assurance, "Sometimes (there are) things that are supposed to filter down through the ranks, usually via email, and it doesn't always make it down to the lowest tier. (Enlisted calls) allow Airmen to receive all the information at the same time so you don't have to wait for it to trickle down the ranks."

Privacy Act: People send out Privacy Act information through email often. However, for protection, there are three things that must be done before sending such an email, said Mary Huff, base records manager and Privacy Act monitor. In such emails, "FOUO" needs to be in the subject line and a Privacy Act statement should be in the body of the message. Also, when the email is sent it needs to be encrypted. Additional information is in Air Force Instruction 33-332.

"Another issue that we really need to consider is the protection of our social security number. It is considered personal identifiable information, even the last four digits," Huff added.

"You can still steal a person's identity with the last four digits because so many commercial businesses use that to (verify identities)," Wilkerson said.

"Service members' PII, to include social security numbers, are exposed more on a daily basis than the entire Sumter community," Wilkerson said. "You are pulling out your ID cards constantly and those who still have the old ID cards have their social security numbers on them so it is exposed often. At Fort Jackson there are many Soldiers whose identities have been stolen and we don't want that to happen to you."

Protecting SSANs also includes not putting information on Share Point.

"Please don't put anything out there that has social security numbers," Huff said. "We see information on the share point or on the S-Drive that is not protected or locked down almost on a daily basis. If you have any questions or are creating anything that deals with social security please call 895-1630."

Resilient Airmen Card: "It is kind of like an in-case of an emergency card," said Wilkerson. "This should be the thing that connects you back to your Airmen roots and your Airmen family where we can get you help. There is a list of referral agencies on the back that you can call 24/7. We also left a blank place on the back for you to put your wingman's name and contact number. No matter what happens or what is going on with you, that wingman is the person you can call."

"All we ask is for you to (carry it with you)," Wilkerson said. "That way, if you need help or if you witness or know someone who is in distress you have someone who you can call for help or for guidance."

Resources and numbers on the card include: the chaplain, family advocacy, the medical squadron, Security Forces, Airmen Against Drunk Driving and many others.

Rumors: "Here is the bottom line: If you see or read something that changes a major fundamental process in the Air Force it will be validated via official Air Force message, Air Force Instruction, or Guidance Memorandum, otherwise it's not true or at least not all the facts are there," Wilkerson said.

"So if you see something that comes down with an Air Force message number assigned to it, it is official and we are probably already moving out on implementation; everything else prior to that is just talk," he added.

A topic of many rumors is the Air Force Fitness Program, more specifically, the physical fitness assessment (PT Test).

The most important thing about the new changes in the PT program is that Airmen keep their assessment current, because going "not-current" is the same as not meeting Air Force standards, see the new guidance memorandum for all the details, Wilkerson informed the audience.

The other topic of many rumors is possible master sergeant promotion boards.

The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff had ask a question regarding the services process for promoting individuals to the Senior NCO ranks; the Air Force is the only service that does not use a board process for promotion to the rank of master sergeant. A RAND Corp. study ensued and somewhere shortly after that a viral email hit cyber networks. Again, our Air Force will inform all of us officially if there is a change to our current promotion system, Wilkerson conveyed.

Sponsors: These organizations contribute greatly to this base and they do everything asked of them and more, said Wilkerson. They've done an excellent job taking care of our Airmen.

The sponsors included the Air Force Sergeants Association, the Rising Four, Focus 5/6, the Top Three, the First Sergeant's Council, the Chiefs Group and AADD.

"I believe the private organizations' briefings were the most meaningful part, especially for the new troops," Hardy said, "In my office we have three new troops and the video covers many things I haven't yet been able to cover. Now I can go back and build on what was presented. That helps me out as a supervisor."

According to Wilkerson, the enlisted call is scheduled for every six months and will be during two themed times of the year: summer safety and the fall/winter holiday stresses. The next enlisted call may be during November or December, which is a stressful time for Airmen. It will focus upon taking care of wingmen and families.

For Resilient Airmen cards or for more information, questions or feedback about the enlisted call email Darius.Harper2@Shaw.af.mil.