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70th ISRW assembles for Spring 2023 SLS at Goodfellow AFB

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  • By U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Franklin R. Ramos
  • 70th ISR Wing Public Affairs
The 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing held its Spring 2023 Senior Leadership Summit at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, March 21-23.

The purpose of this Spring’s SLS was for the 70th ISRW, which has geographically separated units spanning 28 locations worldwide, to gather all its command teams in person to collaborate on ways to strengthen its cryptologic force.

“This is an opportunity for you to be completely focused on how, from your role in leadership of America’s Cryptologic Wing, you can accelerate change across the cryptologic enterprise and the U.S. Air Force as we focus on ways to train for tomorrow's conflict, today,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Craig Miller, 70th ISRW commander.
The themes for this summit were resilience, readiness, and results. There were training sessions and methods offered to command teams on how to identify and enhance programs related to these themes within their units. 

“We wanted to make sure that our leaders are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to be able to adequately take care of [themselves] and their Airmen,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cole Davis, 70th ISRW SLS action officer. “If you can’t take care of yourself then you can’t take care of others. If you’re not taking care of others, then they can’t take care of national security.”

Goodfellow AFB is the home to the 17th Training Wing, which conducts the initial training for Airmen assigned to intelligence career fields. Leadership from both wings met to discuss topics of improving training, so that the best Cryptologic Warriors are produced to meet the demands of the enterprise.

“Developing working relationships with the 17th TRW is vital to the continued success of our operations inside the National Security Agency and in larger ISR operations around the globe,” said Davis. “The 70th is America’s Cryptologic Wing, so most signals intelligence operations and missions fall essentially on the us. Making sure that we get the best trained Airman we can get, with the highest quality operators is only going to benefit national security and the continued success of the wing. 

“Also, it really emphasizes the importance of instructors in the training wing. Coming here allows command teams to gain a deeper understanding of what actually happens at Goodfellow. Then they can go back and try to push their best and brightest Airmen to become instructors to continue the development cycle of cryptologic professionals.”

Miller mentioned the importance of operational units being linked to what is going on in the training environment. By collaborating, both wings can unlock solutions to eliminate training barriers and streamline processes that can be vital to the success of future missions.

The 70th ISRW also invited its annual award nominees to the SLS. During the summit, senior leaders and nominees had the opportunity to engage with technical training students at the 17th TRW to share career knowledge and experiences. 

“A majority of the students that we engaged with during the past few days are going to be coming to the 70th ISRW,” said Davis. “We are already laying the seeds that build those foundations so that we can have Airmen who are not going into the unknown. If you had the chance to sit down with someone who can be your commander or SEL in the next couple of months, it helps build that trust before Airmen even arrive.”

The 3-day event was capped off with a banquet to recognize the 2022 Annual Award winners from across the wing. U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. David M. Gaedecke, 16th Air Force vice commander, was the guest speaker for the ceremony and mentioned the importance of selecting the right people to lead organizations and successfully accomplish the mission.

“I really value the things that Col. Miller and the command chief have established during this SLS,” said Gaedecke. “Readiness, resilience and results, because I personally find those things really important, but it goes back to picking the right leaders to lead an organization.”

Gaedecke added that the perfect leaders have the skills and knowledge to align their tasks with senior leader priorities. “The business that we do [in the Air Force] is exceptionally important, and I applaud every one of you for being a part of that.”