118th Wing Conducts Annual Training

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Darrell Hamm
  • 118th Wing
Nashville, Tennessee --  The 118th Wing conducted leadership training and team building events during annual training held at the Savannah Air National Guard Air Dominance Center in Savannah, Georgia August 13-17 2018.

The week was planned so that units throughout the wing could train together, share ideas, and build unit esprit de corps.

“I feel like we had a really great week,” said Lt. Col. Marty Malone, 118th Wing executive officer, “We met commander’s intent. We got our leadership training in, we had great camaraderie and time together, we got people on a military airlift twice, so from that standpoint we definitely met commander’s intent which is number one, and we had a great experience for our people.”

Events during the trip included Enhancing Human Capital, Habits of Effective Airmen, a low ropes course, Savannah history walk, and a visit to the 8th Air Force museum, as well as a presentation by retired USAF Col. Ed Hubbard about his experiences as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict.

“I believe that my favorite event was hearing from the POW gentleman,” said Lt. Col. Tracey Kinslow, “His mindset; just his approach to life now is eye-opening to hear that from someone who’s main focus was survival. I really enjoyed that perspective. It gave me a lot of different perspectives on my own life. I think it was really, really valuable to hear.”

The general feeling among the attendees was that the week was a great success. Time spent bonding with co-workers and team building were favorites among those who participated.

“I think that it’s wonderful to have all the units come together as one [and] be able to work together,” said Staff Sgt. Amanda Bishop, “I really loved all the speakers and all the classes that we had. I think it was really beneficial for our unit as a whole and the morale of our wing.”

Because of the success of the trip, the 118th wing will most likely be continuing wing-wide annual training like the trip to Savannah.

“We’re in discussion about how we’re going to do it, how often we’re going to do it,” said Malone, “This type of thing, if not every year maybe every other year with something else on the off years, but we’re working on that and figuring that out so it’s a great possibility that it’ll happen again soon.”