Mentorship program seeks volunteers Published Feb. 4, 2019 By Col. Tony P. Angello 446th Airlift Wing JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- Every Airman at the Rainier Wing will have the opportunity to enhance their career through mentorship. During our offsite Strategic Alignment and Deployment event held in August 2018, your leadership decided it was important for our wing to develop a robust mentorship program. I invite anyone who is interested in becoming a mentor to let your supervisor know you’d like to raise your hand to participate. Mentorship is an established program within the Air Force as its importance is directly linked to mission success. Having a strong mentorship program is important to achieving our mission because it cultivates people to be equipped with skills for excellence. The introduction of Air Force Manual 36-2643, Air Force Mentoring Program provides guidelines and expectations both personal and professional development. Mentoring is about helping Reserve Citizen Airmen here grow and providing guidance on the professional direction they want to go. Whether it be an enlisted, officer or civilian member, a mentor can help members reach their goals. Mentors can have four different roles: counselor, advocate, facilitator and coach. Some of the expectations of mentors are: Share relevant knowledge, experience, and resources with mentees Identify & resolve potential issues of mentees Encourage mentees to improve occupational & institutional competencies Enhance own occupational & institutional competencies Exemplify value-focused behavior Support mentee’s career planning and goal setting More efficient leaders Offer guidance, provide feedback, and acknowledge accomplishment Facilitate opportunity for new experiences and skill building Provide wise counsel Listen to personal & professional challenges of mentees Assertiveness of mentees…ask for help when needed, be fully-engaged and active listeners It’s our goal through this mentorship program to build a bench of talented and professional individuals who are willing to further our wing’s vision of Airmen First … A Cohesive, Ready Team!