AFPC senior NCOs provide mentoring to Academy cadets Published June 23, 2008 By Master Sgt. Kat Bailey Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- As part of Operation AIR FORCE, a small cadre of Air Force Academy cadets recently visited Randolph AFB. The intent of the program is to familiarize cadets with the operational Air Force. The 19 future leaders met with wing leadership, base personnel and even got an opportunity to fly with some of Randolph's instructor pilots. One of their final stops brought six of these future leaders, all sophomores, to the Air Force Personnel Center here where they had the opportunity to meet with several senior noncommissioned officers for professional development. "The truly interesting part for me was the fact that most of their questions mirrored those of our young Airmen and NCOs," said Senior Master Sgt. Michael Dilt, a personnel Airman in the assignments division at AFPC. "They wanted to know what awaited them out there in the big blue Air Force." The senior NCOs gave the cadets a brief history of their career accomplishments. In addition, the group talked at great lengths about the challenges of leadership. They also discussed the current state of affairs as it related to workload and manpower reductions, and reviewed the officer promotion system. "Perhaps the longest and most interesting discussing revolved around deployment. They really wanted to know what they could expect," Sergeant Dilt said. "I know we only scratched the surface," he added. "I hope we were able to prepare them for the road ahead. Who knows? In three more years maybe I'll get the opportunity to work with one of these fine officers."