More than 70 Airmen from the ranks of Staff Sgt. to Maj. gathered for a three-day Flight Leadership Course at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, April 13-15, 2022.

The course goal is to aid in the preparation and development of Airmen who are charged with leading a flight. Air Force Instruction 38-101, Manpower and Organization, defines a flight as “the lowest level unit in the Air Force.”

“There is a difference between supervising Airmen and leading units,” said Col. Kyle Head, 23rd Mission Support Group commander. “Our existing professional military education programs don’t adequately address this distinction, so we created this course to help fill that gap.”

Lessons ranged from the role of flight leaders to organizational culture and leveraged both Air Force and academic concepts.

“The intent is to equip them with tools to begin leading in a different capacity,” said 1st Lt. Armando Colorado, 23rd Logistics Readiness Squadron materiel management flight commander. “The transition from tactical leadership to an operational level of leadership requires a different mindset. At the flight leadership level, you go from being the subject matter expert to managing subject matter experts and providing them with what they need to execute the mission.”

Airmen from across the wing were chosen to attend the event, so flight leaders could connect with their peers and interact with each other.

“It was a fantastic opportunity to engage with organizations across the entire base,” said 1st Lt. Christian Little, 23rd Wing Public Affairs Officer. “This course gave me experiences and lessons learned from decades of flight leadership, so I won’t make the same mistakes my predecessors did.”

Several speakers with years of experience shared their knowledge about what makes a good leader. Specific advice about topics such as caring for self and others, managing resources, executing the mission, growing and developing Airmen, and improving their units was highlighted throughout the course.

“Front-line leadership is where the mission happens and Airmen are truly taken care of,” emphasized Head. “Developing our next generation of leaders is the most strategic investment of time we can make.”