375th AMW welcomes new command chief

by Staff Sgt. Maria Bowman
375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

4/23/2014 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The 375th Air Mobility Wing welcomed its new command chief April 7, 2014.

As the wing's command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Wesley Mathias serves as the senior enlisted leader and principal advisor to the commander on matters relating to the health, welfare and morale, readiness, and personal development of the wing's Airmen.

He joined the Air Force in 1988 and has been stationed at 18 different locations, including Germany and the Republic of Korea. Prior to his post at Scott Air Force Base, he was the command chief at Nellis AFB, Nev.

What led you to joining the Air Force?

It was my admiration for the profession; I admired the people in uniform and what they stood for. It made me want to be part of an organization that was dedicated to serving our nation. After coming on board, it has been the greatest decision ever. I've thoroughly enjoyed it; I bleed blue.

What is your favorite Air Force memory?

Some of my favorite memories are witnessing the success of my subordinates--the people who have been selected for step promotion or Officer Training School. Sharing those moments have been very important to me; it's like your own child succeeding. I get excited when someone gets selected for a position--to be a recruiter or first sergeant. They reach back and call me to thank me for helping them, when all I did was advocate for those members and try to tell their story so other people could see they were great. Just being there in those moments of success are some of my best memories.

What is your leadership philosophy?

1. Strong relationships are key to leadership. If I have bad relationships with the commander or with other command chiefs, our Airmen suffer. They see that strife between senior leadership and that's what they will talk about. My focus is to cultivate healthy relationships to take care of our Airmen. You do that by getting out and meeting people. You can expect that from me.

2. I always preach attitude and aptitude--those attributes are very important. When faced with a job, it's important to go into it with the right attitude. You can go into a situation with excuses or you can be excited to do it. Aptitude is about always striving to make yourself better. The Air Force teaches us a trade. Mine was weather, and now I'm the command chief. I increased my aptitude by pushing myself, not just to be a great weather guy, but to be a whole package as an Airman and to be a great leader. I took classes and became educated on different subjects to make myself better. Attitude plus aptitude gets you to the right altitude. If your attitude is right, and you strive to make yourself better, the sky's the limit.

What can the 375th Air Mobility Wing Airmen expect from you?

Airmen can expect me to be out and about, cultivating relationships to better take care of them. I will be firm and fair in upholding standards. I'll support our Airmen and be the voice of their concerns to senior leadership across this installation. They can expect for me to be in their work areas, working alongside them as a visible leader.

What do you expect in return from your Airmen?

I want them to take care of themselves and their families in order to focus on the mission. If things are not right on the home front, that's where their mind is going to be. I want them to understand how their job ties into our mission of Enabling Rapid Global Mobility. They have our support, as leaders in this wing, and we'll try to get them the resources they need to accomplish the mission.

What is your favorite part of being a command chief?

I'm in a position to affect change that will benefit our Airmen. When I was coming up as an Airman, there were things I didn't like and would have really like to change, but I wasn't at the level to make those changes. Now, things are different, and Airmen have a voice. I am the voice of the Airmen at this wing.

Also, I like visiting and getting to work alongside my Airmen. Soon, I'll be starting an initiative called, 'take the command chief to work day.' Every week, I'm going to go into a different section and work with an Airman for about an hour. It could be picking up rocks on the flightline--I'll be working with that Airman. Being visible is important to me, and I enjoy that. I love recognizing Airmen for the good things they do. We have a lot of great Airmen in the wing, and I can't wait to get out and give them the due accolades they deserve.