An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

AFNORTH First Sergeant earns distinguished grad honors

  • Published
  • By Mary McHale
  • AFNORTH Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  They say timing is everything, and Air Forces Northern's first sergeant, a recent Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy graduate, couldn't agree more.

Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Fredrickson attributed his ultimate academic success - one of 42 distinguished military graduates in a class of more than 400 - to the timing of his attendance.

"I think one of the reasons I was successful was the fact this was the appropriate training at just the right time in my career," he said. "I was open-minded and eager to learn the material."

But he said there was also another aspect to the course more significant to him than the curriculum and camaraderie. For him, the 33-day course reinforced how inherently important developmentally-staged professional military education is to a military career.

"I think PME is critically important to developing solid leadership skills and I think the Air Force does a good job of scheduling PME at the right times in our careers," said Sergeant Fredrickson. "PME allows Airmen of every rank to step back from their daily duties, reset the gauges, and figure out what it takes to be successful at the next level."

The first sergeant said the course concentrated on developing strategic, operational and tactical skills required in a joint war fighter environment. Students learned how to operate and supervise in such an environment. In fact, the course itself is joint with not only Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard all eligible to attend, but sometimes students from coalition countries as well.

Another focus area of the course was the profession of arms, which included topics such as unit morale, diversity in the workplace, and communication skills - both verbal and written.

According to Sergeant Fredrickson, while communication skills were stressed, learning about the effects and influence of all the subject areas on leadership skills was an intrinsic goal throughout the course. There were also several briefings by guest speakers, one of the parts he said he thoroughly enjoyed.

"Along with the cross talk with my fellow senior NCOs in my flight, I really enjoyed the motivation of the guest speakers," he said. "We had briefs from surviving Vietnam prisoners of war, another from Lt. Col. (ret.) Herbert Carter from the historic Tuskegee Airmen, and another from former Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Panel members."

For Sergeant Fredrickson, the course as a whole enabled him to return to his organization with a better understanding of the joint environment and an enhanced set of leadership tenets and applications.

"With this course, I am bringing back more tools to use on a daily basis as I interact with Airmen," he said. "It's made me think about how I can be a better leader and if I can inspire people to lead. Overall, it was a fantastic experience."