AU command chief takes part in inaugural Pacific Rim Enlisted Leadership Forum Published Oct. 20, 2015 By John Coyle 42ndnd Air Base Wing Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, ALA. -- The Air University command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Horn, recently returned from Australia where he had been invited to take part in the inaugural Pacific Rim Junior Enlisted Leadership Forum. The forum brought airmen from across the Pacific to share experiences and ideas during a three-day venue, which took place Sept. 28-30 in Canberra, Australia's national capital. Participants were comprised from the militaries of Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the United States. Horn's opportunity to attend the JELF came through an invitation by the Pacific Air Forces command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Harold Hutchison, and his commander, Gen. Lori Robinson. It was their idea to bring Horn in to present and share the Air Force and Air University's approach to enlisted development. As cohost along with the Royal Australian Air Force, Hutchison gave Horn responsibility to present lessons to the JELF, but his role and opportunities went far beyond that during the three-day event. One such opportunity for Horn came during time spent with Mark Pentreath, warrant officer of the RAAF. Discussions between the two, along with Hutchison, revolved around ways to increase engagement among the Pacific Rim friends with a specific but tentative plan to be in closer involvement with AU. For example, such a plan might include an instructor exchange with the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy. In other areas of the visit, Horn said his presentations on Leader Influence were a "huge hit!" Enthusiastic and positive response by the audience made him reflect that he could not remember the last time that he had experienced feedback of that magnitude. Horn gave credit where due and said much of the material came from Airman Leadership School curriculum and videos created by the Air Force's Profession of Arms Center of Excellence. He said he did not see much difference in the junior enlisted leadership styles amongst other represented nations. "Frankly, I was struck more by the things we had in common than by the differences," he said. "Although we all have different strengths and weaknesses, there is a strong similarity among our Pacific Rim friends about what leadership should look like. Integrity, for example; there is simply no question about how critical integrity is to leadership." Sitting in on a leadership forum on the last day of the trip, Horn got to hear from several of the RAAF service chiefs. He said he could not help but be impressed with their progressive thinking and ideas on topics such as the need to break down barriers and a relook at rule sets in regard to human capital management. "The opportunities for collaboration are there if we just connect the right people," he said A briefing on the importance of leadership in all aspects of operations and establishing a healthy organizational culture lead perfectly into Horn's final presentation, the Joint Warfighter. According to the chief, the response was immediate and enthusiastic, and there was a definite recognition of the investment that must be made to be successful. To start with, Horn emphasized there must be an understanding of what each service does and how they fight. They must share the identity of their service culture. Professional military education in the world of warfighting needs to be well-defined and if these types of investment are not in place, it can be detrimental to the mission. The command chief attributed much of the success of the inaugural JELF to "gracious" hosts in the PACAF and RAAF leadership. More importantly, he sees the potential in this type of training environment due to the vivid interaction and high level of learning that took place amongst all noncommissioned officers who were brought together from the Pacific region.