JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
The 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio community welcomed a new command chief who believes teamwork will be key to the continued success of the wing.
Chief Master Sgt. Brion Blais, a career explosive ordnance disposal technician, assumed responsibility for the morale, welfare, professional development and combat readiness of the joint force across San Antonio in May. Since arriving here, he has made strides in continuing the 502nd ABW and JBSA mission of becoming the premier joint base in the Department of Defense.
"My first priority as the JBSA command chief is in line with our mission statement and is to ensure we have the trained and equipped force necessary to deliver unrivaled installation services and support to the 266 mission partners that call JBSA home," he said. "We take some of those issues off the table so they don’t have to worry about them. In order to do that we need a properly trained force and one that is equipped with the resources they need to actually provide those services.
"Additionally, I will be focusing on the professional development of our workforce and the transitioning of our service members and their family from military life to civilian life," he added. "For the professional development, I don’t want to focus on just the enlisted force but also our civilian workforce and officers. I think that our junior force don’t get the professional development attention that they need, so I am going to constantly focus on that."
In addition to ensuring the total force of JBSA has the resources they need to complete their particular mission, the command chief considers taking care of families as equally important and "part of being in the Air Force and the military," he said.
Blais, who has served in the Air Force for 22 years, understands that the enlisted force at JBSA may be curious to know and understand what to expect under his leadership, and he pledges his support which goes back to taking care of the families and Airmen.
"The JBSA community can expect that I will always advocate for the resources they require to do their job and the services they need to take care of the families," Blais said. "I want to get the appropriate resources to their units. I also want to make sure we have the morale, welfare and recreation programs and facilities; medical facilities; child care; and similar things they need to do their job and keep their families safe and secure.
"In turn, I expect them to keep foremost in their minds that we are entrusted with vast responsibility and have all taken a vow to serve our country; not as we see fit, but as those appointed over us ask us to," he added. "Also, that we be the same (service members) out of uniform as we are in uniform."
The command chief is no stranger to working in joint environments and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience he hopes will further instill the team concept throughout JBSA and its mission partners.
"My leadership philosophy has always been simple: you will succeed as a team or fail as a team," he said. "So, put as much energy into those around you as you do for yourself. If you do so, you will be blown away by what your team can accomplish. Successful leaders always note that they were recognized for the accomplishments of their units. If you build a winning team, you cannot help but succeed."
At the beginning of his Air Force career, he encountered one such situation, which first taught him that concept.
"I went through a naval technical training school," Blais recalled. "I was there with the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force. All of us were in a small classroom and it really was a team environment. Our class was 8½ months long and we all made sure we made it through together.
"That really instilled the team concept in me and I have really seen it throughout my career," Blais continued. "I can honestly say that I would not be here if not for the people who worked for me and I have worked with. My accomplishments are a direct result of working in teams. When you surround yourself with people who are successful, you tend to rise to their level."
To help the JBSA enlisted force to similar success, the new command chief provides a few tidbits of wisdom.
"My nuggets of advice for Airmen in today’s Air Force is broken into two messages," Blais said. "For those more seasoned, I would say that change is not good or bad; it is just inevitable. We need to get over the resistance to change and shape the result we desire. For my younger Airmen, I would say that the Air Force is a cross section of our country; it is filled with different generations, backgrounds and experiences. If you want to be successful, be open-minded and learn something from everyone.
"To be the premier installation in the Department of Defense is a tall order, but we will rise to the challenge," he said "With the fiscal challenges our government is under and the threats to our way of life, we do our job more efficiently and effectively where we can, but we must also innovate new ways to reach our goals, even if I means a drastic change to the way we do our mission. Do not avoid the tough challenges; instead, dig in deeper."