MARTINSBURG, W.Va. – Nearly 200 Air National Guardsmen from more than 40 units nationwide attended a Contemporary Base Issues course hosted by the 167th Airlift Wing in Shepherdstown Nov. 15-16.
The CBI course aims to prepare current and future Air National Guard leaders, officer and noncommissioned officers to identify, analyze and resolve contemporary base issues.
Lt. Col. Bradley Ball, staff judge advocate for the 164th AW and CBI course director, said the course empowers leaders so they can "drill down and think through challenging situations."
ANG judge advocate generals provided 12 blocks of instruction covering topics including duty status, ethics, tools and references, standards, discrimination and personnel and administrative matters.
Maj. Gen. Daniel Bunch, ANG assistant to the judge advocate general of the Air Force, told participants they might only spend 10 percent of their time on these issues. But he warned, "if you're wading through any of these topics we're discussing without a legal team, you're taking unnecessary risk."
"This is a leadership course. We're going to talk about legal issues," Brig. Gen. David Dziobkowski, the ANG assistant to the commander, Air Force Legal Operations Agency, told participants. "Good leadership is very hard, but that's why you're here, to improve your leadership."
Col. David Cochran, 167th AW commander, said the 167AW leadership had been looking for an opportunity to host a CBI course for several years and was pleased to offer the professional development for Airmen. About 60 167AW personnel attended the course.
"We need inspirational, passionate and deliberate leadership," Cochran said. "Thanks for your engagement and your deliberateness."