AFDW welcomes new command chief

Published Oct. 20, 2011
By Tech. Sgt. Chyenne A. Adams
Air Force District of Washington Public Affairs

10/20/2011 - JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. - -- A new command chief master sergeant has stepped into the position as the senior enlisted advisor for the Air Force's largest presence in the National Capital Region - the Air Force District of Washington.

Chief Master Sergeant Scott A. Fuller is dual-hatted as the command chief master sergeant of both AFDW and the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing, headquartered at Joint Base Andrews, Md. Fuller is responsible for all matters affecting professional development, wartime operations, sustainment training, career progression, effective utilization, morale, welfare, quality of life and mission effectiveness for more than 40,000 Airmen assigned to Headquarters Air Force and Air Force Elements worldwide.

"The size of the organization is what surprised me most. We're spread out all over the world and we're really much bigger, with a much larger scope, than most people are aware of," said Fuller. "There are many people who don't really know what AFDW is, how many people our administrative control encompasses, or how much impact we have in the National Capital Region. We have such unique, diverse mission sets - there's just no other organization like this one in the Air Force."

The chief comes to AFDW from an extended deployment to Iraq as the 321st Air Expeditionary Wing command chief, where he served as Air Advisor to the Chief Master Sergeant of the Iraqi Air Force, integral to building strategic long-term relationships with a partner nation and their new air force.

Fuller's leadership philosophy served him well in Iraq and many assignments prior to that, and he brings the basics with him to AFDW - treating people how he'd like to be treated, with dignity and respect.

"Being humble and serving others is my style. If you took a pyramid and you had the large populace of Airmen at the bottom, then the supervisors, and the leaders at the top... it should be flipped over and all the leadership should be serving the rest of the unit," he said. "That's the approach I've always taken and it's worked for me. I'm low-key and don't like a lot of pomp and circumstance... just the basics of taking care of people."

The former wing command chief is passionate about taking care of people through first-line supervision and says he hopes to have an impact on effective supervision during his tenure at AFDW.

"Airmen come from basic training and technical training school and maybe get two weeks FTAC (First Term Airmen's Center) training... then they get to their first operational wing and a lot of times they're kind of let go on their own with minimal supervision," Fuller said. "There are a lot of good supervisors out there, but there's plenty of Airmen who are overlooked and we want to prevent that before it happens.

"I hope to have an opportunity in this position to talk to leaders and emphasis first-line supervision of Airmen. And I say Airmen with a big 'A' because there are young lieutenants and captains who need and deserve that same type of leadership and mentorship that the young enlisted Airmen are entitled to. We have many talented and educated Airmen with great potential; trusting and empowering them is an excellent motivator and allows creative followership."

The command chief says the ideal is for every young person to be groomed from the day they arrive and set up for success - promotion opportunities, expanding experiences and training. The same things that he was fortunate enough to receive from various leaders and mentors throughout his career.

Fuller joined the Air Force at 17 years old in June 1985 after graduating from high school in Moorhead, Minn.

"I had the same work ethic and drive as a young Airmen as I have now. I was a good Airman with a good attitude and a strong work ethic and got a lot of mileage out of that, but you need good supervision to vector you and help you continuously progress towards success. I've had strong supervisors and leadership throughout my career and looking back, I was being "mentored" without actually knowing it," he said. "Those mentoring moments have proven beneficial in creating continuous career opportunities. My family has also always been very supportive through all the challenges of my career - especially deployments and PCS's. Bottom-line is that I would not be here today if it wasn't for the strong leadership and the outstanding support of my family."

His family includes his wife, Tracy - his former high-school sweetheart who has served beside him from the time he entered the Delayed Enlistment Program at the age of 16.. The chief calls her a "quiet leader" who bleeds red, white and blue along with their 17-year-old daughter, Amber. Another "patriot" who has talked about joining the Air Force since she was 10 years old and wrote a letter to the president asking permission to join early after she saw her father, then the first sergeant for a security forces squadron, deal with his unit's challenging operations tempo.

"My wife and daughter are die-hard American patriots and prove to me every day how important it is to have unconditional support for what we do," he said. "Family is paramount. If the homefront is not taken care of and people are distracted with things going on back home, they're not going to effectively produce and the mission will falter. Some people don't feel comfortable leading from the front, but that's okay because we need good followers, too - everyone brings something to the table."

Fuller hopes to bring a lot to the table, and set an example for others to follow as he continues to pursue personal and professional goals.

"We never stop learning. If we stop learning or growing, we should probably look for a different profession. Chiefs are charged with growing Airmen to replace us someday, so we're continually challenged along the way. I still have personal goals for continued education to take advantage of the great educational benefits our Air Force provides us. If we don't take advantage of those benefits, we're really doing ourselves and our families a disservice, and the subordinates that look to us as role models," he said.

"You're supposed to be setting the example... if you're going down the wrong path, Airmen will follow you; if you're going down the right path, you challenge your Airmen to self-improve and follow you. Those Airmen tend to emulate you, so by taking advantage of the opportunities the Air Force provides us, you're giving the Airmen something to emulate and promoting the Air Force the way every member should."

The new AFDW command chief says that leadership is going to be even more important in the years to come, as the command and the Air Force faces major challenges with budget constraints and personnel losses.

"It's going to be on the shoulders of all leaders to ensure the mission continues to happen, as we're charged. Mission requirements are still going to be there... that's the biggest challenge our organization and the Air Force is going to face over the next several years."

Despite the challenges, the chief says he wouldn't change a thing. As a kid from Minnesota with one brother, six sisters and a single parent, the opportunity to join the Air Force looked like a chance at a steady paycheck.

"It's turned out to be so much more though. Looking back, I never would have guessed that I'd have gone from bagging groceries and stocking shelves to where I am today. I'm proud of being a part of this amazing Air Force and proud to be able to represent and support young Airmen today."

In his opinion, those Airmen, and others he's met throughout his career, are the best part of the Air Force.

"The greatest thing about the Air Force is the relationships I've built over the years," he said. "No matter where you go in the world, you see someone in uniform and there's automatically a relationship. You get to come into contact with so many great people in your career. That will be the biggest thing I'll miss one day - those constant relationship opportunities."

Not that he's looking that far ahead - he doesn't look beyond the current assignment.
"We're very happy here, everyone's been extremely warm and welcoming. I'm impressed with the professionalism I've witnessed from every person in AFDW I've come across so far. I'm just excited to serve here and truly look forward to working with the AFDW team in shaping this organization to even greater excellence."

The Air Force District of Washington, located on Joint Base Andrews , Md., brings air, space and cyberspace capabilities to the joint team protecting the nation's capital, and supports local personnel and those serving worldwide. As a direct reporting unit with major command responsibilities, AFDW provides headquarters support to The U.S. Air Force Band and Honor Guard, located on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., and to the 11th Wing, 320th Air Expeditionary Wing, 844th Communications Group and 79th Medical Wing on Joint Base Andrews, Md.

AFDW/CCC