JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. —The Air National Guard's Senior Enlisted Leadership Management Office recently added two new team members to further advance the SELMO mission by continuing the deliberate development of senior enlisted leaders.
Chief Master Sgt. William Horay and Senior Master Sgt. Mikael Sundin, each from a different component within the Air Force, are teaming up to bring their unique perspectives to the office.
"I was extremely humbled when I was selected as the first active duty chief master sergeant to be assigned to the ANG command chief's staff," said Chief Master Sgt. William Horay, SELMO Manager, who transferred in October from Kadena Air Base, Japan, where he served as an aircraft maintenance superintendent.
"I'm excited to expand my knowledge of the Air National Guard and draw from my tactical and operational exposure in order to share my experiences with ANG members. Furthermore, once I transition back to the active duty side, I'll be better prepared to articulate the need to collectively serve under the "one Air Force" concept."
SELMO was established in 2014 to ensure that Air National Guard senior enlisted leaders receive the same opportunities for development currently offered to the active component. Senior enlisted leadership positions such as command chief master sergeant carry specific training requirements and a need for functional oversight. The SELMO ensures that these administrative tasks are accomplished and ANG senior enlisted leaders are not impeded while pursuing developmental opportunities.
Creating new opportunities for enlisted ANG members through SELMO also created new opportunities for Horay.
"I saw this as an avenue to work at the strategic level and interact with a wide range of professionals," he said. "I maintain functional oversight, coordinate senior enlisted leader education opportunities, and process nominations to key command positions for more than 155 ANG command chiefs while coordinating further developmental opportunities with the National Guard Bureau General Officer Management Office, Air Force Chiefs' Group and key senior leader offices. Working these relationships across the active and reserve components will continue to ensure ALL of the Air Force's senior enlisted leaders are developed to the same professional standard."
This also provides professional development for the chief.
"I must strive to further develop my leadership and management skills to better prepare me for future roles," Horay said. "I feel the experience I will gain from SELMO will absolutely help me with that professional development."
The other addition to the office brings with him 19 years of Guard experience and perspective to include multiple deployments.
"I am excited for the opportunity to help further develop our ANG enlisted leaders," said Senior Master Sgt. Mikael Sundin, SELMO superintendent. "My leaders, peers and subordinates helped shape my character to fit a position such as this and that sparked an immediate feeling of humility knowing I did not go into this alone."
Sundin, previously a fabrication element supervisor with the 140th Wing in Colorado, joined the SELMO team in November to help ANG senior enlisted members capitalize on professional opportunities and further develop as leaders.
"This developmental opportunity offered a unique chance to better understand the ANG concept at a strategic level," he said. "I have worked very hard with my past leadership to ensure the Air National Guard is providing our Airmen the best leadership possible and this is another way to ensure that."
The evolution of the Total Force concept makes SELMO's mission important and relevant.
"SELMO is the cornerstone for ensuring the ANG develops its senior enlisted leaders on the same level as the regular Air Force," said Sundin. "In order for the ANG to be a relevant, operational reserve, our leaders must be afforded standardized development opportunities, and SELMO is continuing to bridge that gap."
The SELMO manages a triad of responsibilities that interconnect as functional management, development and nominative opportunities.
Since its establishment, the office has made it possible for multiple ANG command chiefs to interview for Combatant Command, Major Command, Joint Task Force, Department of Defense positions and regular Air Force wing command chief master sergeant assignments. In fact, SELMO's efforts have resulted in historical appointments for the ANG's leaders.
Leveraging the professional development processes of its senior enlisted members, the ANG is now represented in strategic positions across the Air Force. Two such examples of these successes include the Air Force First Sergeant Academy commandant and the special enlisted advisor for total force enlisted issues.
"SELMO is the embodiment of our institutional competencies," said Horay. Everything we do strives to provide enlisted leaders with the tools to become more strategically minded. This, in turn, provides them with a clearer strategic picture while developing their Airmen. The result is exponential development of our enlisted force."