Page 9 - Desert Lightning News Tucson 7-31-15

Desert Lightning News
A Q&A with Master Sgt. Jaime Lewis
Staff Sgt. Adam Grant
12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern)
The men and women of the 12th
Air Force (Air Forces Southern)
welcomed a new First Sgt. in May.
Master Sgt. Jaime M. Lewis, began
his career in 2000 as an Aerial Por-
ter, where he performed duties such
as passenger services, cargo ware-
house worker, ramp services, special
handling, and air terminal opera-
tion center controller. After serving
in the Air Force for seven years he
decided to follow his dream and be-
come a paralegal.
After completing his technical
school training he was then sta-
tioned at Davis-Monthan AFB.
While serving at the DM legal of-
fice he was given the opportunity to
hone his craft and lead in many dif-
ferent areas. In 2014 Lewis decided
to follow another calling this time it sional. And be sure to wear lots of
was becoming a First Sergeant, after
completing his training assigned to
the 43rd Electronic Communica-
tion Squadron before taking on the
role of the 12th Air Force (Air Forc-
es Southern) First Sgt.
Question: What do you like about
being a Numbered Air Force First
Sergeant and how is it different
from working at the squadron level?
Lewis: What I like most about be-
ing a Numbered Air Force First Ser-
geant is being able to work with folks and over, or have someone getting
from a lot of different career fields
and many different backgrounds in
the Air Force. You don’t typically
have that opportunity in a squadron
because usually there aren’t so many
different AFSC’s in one squadron. I
think the main thing that stood out
for me, that seems different from a
squadron, is that everyone already
has a tremendous amount of experi-
ence in their given career field. They
are up at the NAF because they were
more than likely the go to person at
the squadron level. Also, a lot of the peer pressure issues.
officers and directors have already
been Squadron commanders or even
Group commanders so that helps
when you are dealing with issues that
may come up.
Question: What advice do you give
to all of your inbound personnel?
Lewis: The advice that I typically
July 31, 2015 9
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give depends on the member and (Courtesy Photo)
how much experience they have
in the Air Force, or if they are new Master Sgt. Jaime M. Lewis, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern), was welcomed as a new First
to the DM area and Tucson com- Sgt. in May.
munity. Overall I would tell all our
inbound folks that the experience Air Force? (ADC) was in some sort of trouble
in the NAF different than what Lewis: Honestly I would say keep to some degree. So in my position
they may have had at the squad- as the Defense Paralegal I had to
ron level. So be patient when try- doing what you are doing. Overall screen everyone who came in that
ing to get something done, there the new system is going to help rec- office before the attorney ever talk-
may be different ways of handling ognize the folks that really stand out ed to them. I had an opportunity
things than at lower levels of com- and who go above and beyond our to give good guidance and mentor
mand. I tell all our inbound folks core values. What is also great is that young airman who may have made
that our AFSOUTH mission is very the main purpose of the change is a small mistake. Now, I also had the
unique and that you will probably to highlight what’s most important opportunity to work serious cases
get some opportunities to experi- to our Air Force, which is job per- which, to be honest, taught me a lot
ence the missions we are running formance. Again I go back to what I about patience and how to separate
in the AOR. With that said, make firmly believe, we are the greatest Air my personal beliefs from profes-
sure to be mindful of the different Force in the world and the reason be- sional concerns.
cultures in the countries you may hind that is simple. It’s not a certain
get a chance to visit. Also, come aircraft or piece of technology that Question: What is the most reward-
to see me for anything. I don’t want makes us head-and-shoulders above ing part of being a First Sergeant?
to be thought of as a disciplinarian the rest; it’s our people, our Airmen
but more of a resource for guid- that are out there doing the mission Lewis: The most rewarding part
ance, whether personal or profes- getting things done. Like what I saw of being a First Sergeant is helping
down in Honduras with the New someone who is in need. Whether
sunblock here at DM! Horizon folks. Wow! Talk about do- it is getting someone home on emer-
ing something tremendous. gency leave, being able to be there to
Question: What is a pet peeve of yours? congratulate your Airmen on a mile-
Lewis: My biggest pet peeve Question: What has been your stone in their life, or even something
would probably be someone in a most rewarding assignment and why? as small as seeing that young air-
leadership position taking things man finally get a chance to move out
too personally. What I mean by Lewis: My most rewarding as- of the dorms. Overall just helping
that is, if one of our Airmen got in a signment has been the time I spent people, it is truly the most rewarding
situation where they did something working in the Area Defense Coun- part, in my mind, that makes this job
wrong, we as leaders should not sel. The reason why was simple; ev- the best job in the Air Force.
overreact. The person who made eryone who walked into our office
the mistake probably already feels
terrible, they do not need to be re-
minded that they messed up over
angry at them for what they did.
Don’t get me wrong, they do need
to be accountable for their mistake
but it needs to be done with prop-
er guidance. They need to be told
what they did was wrong and that
there will be consequences for their
actions. In my experience most
Airmen want to be the best and
do the best they can for the overall
mission, sometimes they just get
wrapped up in personal problems
whether it be family, legal, or even
Question: As the Air Force con-
tinues to make adjustments in the
rating system, what advice would
you give to Airmen on staying com-
petitive and being marketable to the