Faulkenberry talks about education, training, balance

by Airman 1st Class Megan Friedl
375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

4/3/2014 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- In honor of women's history month, Maj. Gen. Barbara Faulkenberry, 18th Air Force vice commander, was the speaker at the professional development lunch at the Library Auditorium March 27 here.

Faulkenberry spoke about topics such as Single Unit Retrieval Formats, training, and balancing professional and personal lives.

She spoke about the different parts of SURFs and what it all means to the people who have them. Airmen and their supervisors can read a lot of information about someone's Air Force career.

"When I go to promotion boards, there are SURF-like documents that we review," she said. "I can see excellence and mediocrity on SURFs. If you have Airmen underneath you, I would recommend as a technique to help them, to look over their SURFs together."

One of the categories listed on SURFs is professional military education.

"PME is about being competent in what we do," she said. "It is fundamental to our development. You can't just sit back, you must do some research to find the training, workshops and growth sessions."

She advised everyone should take advantage of the opportunity to advance themselves now, instead of later.

"Training is what gets you to the next level," said Faulkenberry. "It matters because it broadens yourself and your performance will greatly improve."

She said there are many responsibilities at work and with one's family, and said balance between the two is essential.

"I'm a huge advocate for bringing your family into this military world," she said. "Involve your family, because they need to understand it. Invite them to have lunch with you at your office or come to an Airmen Leadership School graduation."

She concluded by thanking the Airmen and also the civilians for what they do in the Air Force.

"People respect you because of your uniform," she said. "It's a huge honor to be respected by your nation."