By Airman 1st Class Bahja J Jones
11th Wing Public Affairs specialist
All too often, Airmen muffle their complaints, questions and concerns, venting to other Airmen and others who are unable to affect change. They think that it may be better to suffer in silence rather than address things that really matter to them because they feel as though their voices may not be heard due to the lack of stripes on their shoulders.
Upon arrival to Andrews a few months ago, I had a few problems with my dorm room. I addressed them with dorm management on numerous occasions but continued to see no change. When I spoke with other Airmen, a few stated that they’d been waiting for problems to be addressed in their dorms for quite some time and to “take a number.”
When I met with my first sergeant, he asked how things were going and how was I adjusting to life on Andrews. I seized the opportunity to address my concerns about my dorm.
He looked into my work orders and took down a few notes and the next morning I began to receive calls about the statuses of my work orders.
Within two weeks, my room received all the maintenance that I requested.
Sometimes being in the junior enlisted tier, makes Airmen feel as though they have no power, but there is power in using the resources that we have been provided to get things done.
Your chain of command is your single, most powerful tool. We may not have the stripes to make the changes, but we have leaders whose duties include ensuring that we have all we need to be effective, productive Airmen.
