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JBSA News
NEWS | May 3, 2012

JBSA-Randolph Rising 5/6 sets precedent with speed mentoring

By Alex Salinas Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

The Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Rising 5/6 is hoping to start a trend on base that will provide invaluable personal and professional advice from select "been there, done that" military members to Airmen.

The organization sponsored a speed mentoring event April 25 at the Airman and Family Readiness Center, Bldg. 693.

"Our event centered on chief master sergeants and chief master sergeant-selects mentoring NCOs," Tech. Sgt. Melanie Wester, Randolph Rising 5/6 special projects officer, said.

The speed mentoring idea was inspired when members from the Randolph Rising 5/6 read about similar activities taking place at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., which garnered much success.

As such, Staff Sgt. Natca Moye, Randolph Rising 5/6 president, and company decided it was time for Randolph to get up to speed and see how beneficial speed mentoring could be.

The on-base speed mentoring affair involved 20 selected mentors who gave advice to 20 NCOs who signed up on a first-come, first-served basis in rapid-fire three-minute sessions, whereby at the end of one hour, each NCO visited with every participating senior NCO.

"It was not to sit there and get or give a life story," Wester said. "It was to get help and get advice."

Moye said the senior NCOs were selected to be speed advisers by word of mouth from those participating.

"That's where the list of 20 senior NCOs came from," she said. "[It came] from our own mentors we see on a daily basis."

"The shock-and-awe effect (of three-minute rounds) helped participating E5s and E6s get as much information as they could," Moye said. "Some people may have been longwinded - others may have been shy - but the quick sessions kept the flow steady and kept us all motivated."

Some of the topics discussed to advisees included where they saw themselves in five years, what were their individual career goals, what were their concerns about keeping in shape and issues on enlisted performance reports, Wester said.

Moye said she was proud her organization set precedent with the event and that more speed mentoring sessions will be planned with other cohorts such as incoming, young Airmen.

Wester spoke about her past experience as a young Airman.

"I barely spoke for the first couple of years," she said. "I was just scared. It's not like I couldn't seek mentors around me, but sessions like this helped us pick at chiefs' brains to learn what inspires them so we could become more inspired."

Moye explained why the mentorship opportunity was important for Randolph staff and technical sergeants.

"We want to grow as individuals and in our careers," Moye said. "We're in the middle of the bunch as NCOs. We're looking forward to being chiefs in the Air Force, but we have younger Airmen looking up to us. We don't want to be stagnant."

The Randolph Rising 5/6 received feedback from participants and expects future events to become a mainstay on base, Moye said.