ARLINGTON, Va. - Every day National Guard members throughout the world join forces with other services and nations, living up to their motto, “Always ready, always there.”
Whether it’s fighting fires in Arizona or floods in North Dakota, or building schools and shelters in Honduras, Guard members train and perform with a global mentality.
As the Guard continues to stretch its reach, it should come as no surprise it encourages their senior enlisted leaders to blur the service lines and attend joint professional military education, or PME, courses like the Sergeants Major Course at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy in Fort Bliss, Texas.
The SMC educates Army master sergeants and sergeants major, as well as senior enlisted members of other services and components, in full spectrum operational and strategic operations to best prepare them to be successful leaders in any environment, according to the SMC mission statement.
Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Chris Roper, security forces manager with the Oregon National Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing, graduated from the intensive Sergeants Major Course June 18. Roper was one of 327 graduates; however, he is the first Air National Guard member to graduate the in-residence SMC, said USASMA officials.
Every year, hundreds of military members from all service components, branches and nations come together for this 10-month course, the longest of all service equivalent senior enlisted leadership courses.
Due to curriculum changes the previous year, Roper’s class - Class 61 - was the first to extend to 10 months, the course had been nine months long since 1995.
“The Sergeants Major Course underwent a major transformation last year, with a tougher curriculum heavy on critical thinking and problem-solving, intense college-level reading and challenging writing assignments,” said Army Command Sgt. Maj. David L. Yates, director of the SMC, last August just before the start of Class 61.
Even with about 20 years of military experience, Roper has another first - the SMC was the first PME course he has attended as a resident, but said he is fortunate for havindg done so.
“My biggest mistake was not attending other academies in-residence,” Roper said.
While other Air Guard members have completed the Sergeants Major Course as non-residents, some senior enlisted leaders believe there are benefits to attending in-residence.
“In-residence attendance is an important element in the development of our future leaders,” Air Force Chief Master Sgt. James Hotaling, command chief of the 142nd Fighter Wing. “Although I recognize our unique Citizen-Airman culture does not allow everyone to participate, we must make every attempt to ensure we give our Airmen a chance to attend at least one resident course in their career.”
While Roper had the much needed support of his wing, the process also involved the very top enlisted leaders of both the Air Force and the Air National Guard. His selection began with a nomination by Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Muncy, Air National Guard command chief.
Muncy said he was selected out of six other Air Force members, both active duty and Guard. The process for Airmen selections begins in the office of Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Roy, who believes the SMC benefits all Airmen, regardless of their component.
“We are a nation at war,” Roy said. “Our success depends on the Total Force engagement. Any education that enables our Airmen, be they active duty, Guard or Reserve, to better perform their mission is an example of a joint service solution. Simply put, the better educated and trained we are, the better we perform. It makes sense to develop all of our Airmen to the best of their abilities.”
Muncy agreed.
“It’s huge for force development for the Air Force and for us – and that “us” isn’t just the Air National Guard,” he said. “It’s the big “US,” the one on our uniforms that stands for the United States.
Before attending the USASMA Roper said he often asked himself why our military leaders were making certain decisions.
“Now I see the bigger picture at the operational and strategic level,” Roper said.
The “bigger picture” changed after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
“Since 9/11 the necessity for the National Guard to operate in a joint environment with active duty forces has never been more important,” said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Denise Jelinski-Hall, senior enlisted advisor to the chief of the National Guard Bureau.
“The more opportunities we have to train and learn together,” Jelinksi-Hall said, “the more efficient and effective we will be at home and abroad in accomplishing the mission.”
For Roper, his SMC experience brought this to light.
“No matter what branch of the service, it’s no longer your branch you should be concerned with…don’t think about just yours and to hell with the rest,” Roper said.
For Airmen, understanding the Army culture and Soldier development better prepares them for future joint operations, Roy said.
“Attending the Sergeants Major Academy provides our senior NCO’s with critical operational and strategic perspectives in terms of the profession of arms,” he said.
However, learning goes both ways.
“It also presents an opportunity for the active component to better understand the National Guard and visa versa,” Jelinski-Hall said.
Though Roper is more prepared to work in and understand joint environments overseas, his Air Guard unit back home expects to reap benefits from his newly gained insight as well.
Roper’s attendance at the USASMA as an Air National Guard representative was an amazing opportunity for him to work alongside coalition forces and to highlight the missions and ideals of the Air National Guard, said Air Force Col. Michael Stencel, commander of the 142nd Fighter Wing.
“As an Air National Guard ambassador, Senior Master Sgt. Roper returned home with a wealth of knowledge that he will be able to share with the entire Oregon National Guard,” Stencel said. “In a time of tight budgets and shrinking forces, it seems that now more than ever, these cross-cultural experiences will pay huge dividends well into the future.
“He embodies the best that the Air National Guard has to offer, and we are proud to say he is ours.”
But even with the pride and many benefits of being a resident student at the USASMA, there also come challenges and the need for thoughtful planning.
Most of Roper’s deployments have been shorter than his academy course experience, so it was a decision that was made carefully by him, his family and his leadership, both locally and nationally.
“The long-term gain far outweighs the short-term cost,” Stencel said. “Any time we have an opportunity to broaden someone like Chris, whether it involves PME, supporting the National Guard Bureau, or going down range, we are all over it.”
“The individual, the wing and the state all benefit beyond measure.”
Roper admitted the experience was initially overwhelming, but he soon adjusted and said he would highly encourage any senior noncommissioned officer to attend if given the opportunity.
Prior to attending the USASMA, a great deal of preparation had to be accomplished. With the support of his leadership and his family and several checklists, Roper said he felt prepared going into the SMC.
“Always be ready,” Jelinksi-Hall said. “Be ready for that moment when leadership calls your name.”
“Always ready, always there … the Guard motto,” Roper said. “I was ready and I went there.”