AF Military Training Instructors: a heritage of honor, professionalism, integrity

  • Published
  • By Col. Eric Axelbank
  • Commander, 37th Training Wing
7/27/2012 --  Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Tx -- Military training instructors are the leading edge of our enlisted force. They work hard every day to transform young men and women into the warrior Airmen of character who we will proudly serve alongside and be counted on as our wingmen in the future.

These military training instructors epitomize our core values in an extremely demanding work environment. They proudly accept these responsibilities and perform with honor and professionalism as they execute their mission at Air Force Basic Military Training.

I am proud of them, the sacrifices they make and their remarkable contributions to the U.S. Air Force.

Every Airman in the 37th Training Wing and our senior leadership share my commitment to providing a safe, secure and highly effective training environment at BMT. Make no mistake, this has been and will continue to endure as my top priority.

While we have some Airmen who are facing allegations of misconduct, investigation and legal proceedings, let's not lose sight of the reason we're here - to produce the world's best Airmen.

I've directed our team, including every support agency within Joint Base San Antonio, to look into every aspect of our program and I tell the loved ones and the parents of America's sons and daughters that I will continue to safeguard our newest Airmen as they make the transition from civilian life to military service.

Our trainees and students are our wingmen and I have made the entire basic military training chain of command accessible to any trainee who experiences, witnesses or hears about any allegations of misconduct by any staff member or instructor.

I recently led a period of Airman's time with a female flight in their fifth week of training and invited members of the media to attend. Reporters asked the trainees questions about their experience in basic training. I could see the pride beaming in their eyes as they talked about "their" Air Force and their strong belief in our core values.

All the trainees, when asked, expressed confidence in their MTIs. They said they knew how to report and felt completely free to report any misconduct. These trainees, who are about to become Airmen, take to heart the concepts of being a wingman and about doing the right thing - always. They attributed that knowledge and boost in personal confidence to the MTIs who train them.

It is an honor and privilege to lead the wing that takes more than 35,000 volunteer civilians every year and builds the foundation of Air Force core values - Integrity, Service and Excellence - as their lifelong guide. I have no doubt that our MTIs live those core values and expect their fellow MTIs to do the same.

Although mission success is evident each week as we graduate roughly 700 Airmen with 5,000 family members present, our mission is not complete until we investigate every instance of alleged misconduct from within the training environment.