HeroFront

Chief Master Sergeant Heriberto Diaz is the Command Chief Master Sergeant, Third Air Force, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The Third Air Force is U.S. Air Forces in Europe's Numbered Air Force for U.S. European Command as well as the U.S. Air Forces in Africa's Numbered Air Force for U.S. Africa Command, and is comprised of nine active-duty wings, ninety geographically separated units spanning 104 countries across Europe and Africa. As the Numbered Air Force’s Senior Enlisted Leader, Chief Diaz advises the commander on issues affecting the readiness, organization, training, health, welfare, morale, development, and utilization of 30,000 Airmen.

Chief Diaz is from Playas, New Mexico and enlisted in the Air Force in 1995. He has served in various duties in Munitions Maintenance, Operations

(This discussion is not endorsed by the USAF, it is a fun discussion between friends with the hope someone can gain positive insight)

Chad is the Commandant for the Edwards Airman Leadership School at Edwards AFB and gives us his top 5 lessons learned running the schoolhouse. He spent 14 years and 2 special duties in the security forces and enlisted professional military education communities. Currently, he develop's entry level supervisors through a five week leadership development course. Additionally, he's grown a passion for driving digital transformation through the education lenses while building an innovation eco-system across the Air Force within the educational community. He's managed many initiatives focused on human performance, talent management and emerging technologies with tech industry.   Since 2016, he has worked with multiple universities and industry partners nationwide to address education challenges across the Air Force. His work with AFWERX has spurred multiple solutions that have scaled across the U.S Air Force and Army. Chad's efforts have also launched many products and prototypes focused on human capital and micro-transportation. Chad lives in Lancaster, California with his wife and soon to be first child on the way, and also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports & Health Science.

Conversation Talking Points:

0:00 - Intro

2:03 - Who would play you in a movie?

3:23 - What book should every Airman read?

6:05 - How did your mentor help you find your ‘why’?

7:18 - “Being ME got me HERE”

8:41 - Top 5 Lessons learned from Airman Leadership School

13:58 - Lesson 1: Talk less and listen more.Act on what Airmen tell you.

16:20 - Leveraging SMEs “I don’t want to help everybody, I want to give everybody the opportunity to help others”

18:07 - Lesson 2: Be authentic! Being authentic is more inspiring than the process.

21:25 - Were you ever uncomfortable being your authentic self?

23:06 - Why leadership takes courage.

24:13 - Lesson 3: I’m OK…You’re OK.  Start from the position that everyone is doing the best they can. Learn to encourage and support, which is more rewarding than finding fault.

28:53 - Lesson 4: Being right isn’t enough. Make Airmen’s ideas a reality.

31:05 - Having a “good idea” is only half the battle - Getting it supported is the other half.

34:16 - Lesson 5: Everyone has a story - Find a way for Airmen to tell their story in a way they understand.

40:28 - Not sharing ideas and resources and how this mentality will put us behind.

41:36 - The advantage of risk taking.

47:18 - Why I love Chad so much and AF Quarantine University.

Myself and Mike Rosa sit down at Black Rifle Coffee in Niceville Florida to catch up. We moved from Whiteman AFB, Missouri to Eglin Afb Florida back in the fall of 2021 - At that time we were on top of the world and killing it in our careers. Everything that could go right - did go right - the sky was the limit and we were thrilled for our futures. Unfortunately, we both hit a dead end in our own unique way and this closed the door on our "Plan A" We were now facing the reality that a "Plan B" had to exist - where do we go from here?

Talking Points - Time Stamps:

0:00 - intro

1:17 - Mike Rosa

2:54 - Clear path

3:03 - Believed I could

4:00 - Cross training

7:34 - Been top notch

8:31 - Six months in a eight month course

8:55 - Failed test three times - got separated from program

10:42 - Josh - the worst career experience

11:06 - Josh - all time low; questioning my self worth and purpose

11:40 - Josh - that plan not happening anymore

12:35 - Mike - first time majored failed

15:28 - Mike - not healthy basing self worth making it in EOD

16:27 - Josh - caught up in titles or accomplishments for validation

17:30 - Josh - one thing learned - all eggs in one basket - no plan B

18:00 - Josh - caring too much what people thought

19:56 - Josh - be confident even when attacked

20:10 - Josh - rooted & confident In yourself & abilities without appraisals of others

30:36 - Josh - had good ideas but officer in charge shot it down

32:30 - Mike - take my ideas; giving me creative room; the one in charge not in control of it takes a lot of self growth

34:20 - Mike - washed out - what next?

36:36 - Mike - self respect by doing my job the best of my ability

38:20 - Josh - retire at 20. It hit me when I applied for a special duty and did not get it

42:42 - Final Thoughts - don’t invest in degradable aspects in life

"I officially retired on 1 Sep 2021 after serving 30 years in the United States Air Force. I served as an Independent Duty Medical Technician, First Sergeant, Inspector General Program Manager, Medical Group Superintendent and Command Chief Master Sergeant. I was able to overcome many obstacles and barriers as a black woman in chaotic, unconventional and dynamic environments. I served as a Command Chief Master Sergeant at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota during the onset of the pandemic, social and racial injustices and significant changes in the mission. I created a lifelong hashtag mantra called #SLAY, as a way to motivate and inspire myself and others to authentically show up as the best version of themselves. I attached meaningful context to each letter of the word of adopted philosophies that I applied during my career and compel others to do the same; “S” stands for Stay Ready to Be Ready, “L” stands for Lead Out Loud, “A” stands for A Sense of Family and the “Y” stands for You Are Built To Last. I am now the founder and CEO of #SLAY TO SUCCE$$, a professional coaching business for high achieving women who desire to Kill It, to Dominate It and to Nail It, without sacrificing their health, careers, relationships and happiness. I’m on a mission to help women increase visibility, embrace empowerment and climb up the ladder of success that they desire and deserve."

 Talking Points 0:00 - Get fired up! 2:30 - #SLAY to Success - My thoughts on the book 8:00 - Who would play you in a movie? 11:05 - What's one lesson you learned from a great leader, and one lesson from a poor leader 17:08 - Proudest AF moment 32:19 - S - stay ready to be ready; preparation is key 33:05 - I stopped waiting; just started doing 35:55 - L - Leadership/lead out loud 36:27 - check on people; mini conversations; developing relationships 37:07- go out there; don’t shrink yourself 37:34 - don’t take a back seat; hands on the wheel 38:08 - A - a sense of family 39:08 - everyone is a person; everyone is somebody’s somebody 47:23 - People are fearful of people who have & own their personnel power 54:51 - strip away all titles, who are you? 58:40 - Y - you are built to last - The fight against COVID

Ashlee Leppert’s love of the water drove her to join the Coast Guard and serve her country. As a “non-rate” she was a qualified boat engineer on small response boats before graduating from avionics electrical technician school. She became a qualified flight mechanic and a flight mechanic instructor–her favorite and most rewarding job. Ashlee retired with 14 years of active duty service.

get a signed copy of her book! I did!

https://ashleeleppert.com

Want her to fire up your team in REAL LIFE?!

https://ashleeleppert.com/contact-ashlee-leppert/

0:00 - Intro

2:20 - Hero’s defined by what they overcome than what they accomplished

13:38 - DUI was a blessing in disguise. Was on a bad path.

17:23 - Worked hard & earned respect back

18:25 - Found faith & truth. Realized purpose

19:30- Trust God will work in your life

19:42 - Lives it, sees it, watch miracles happen in my life

24:00 - Goal to educate & inspire about Coast Guard

25:10 - Hurricane Harvey

28:25 - People waving towels and shirts for help

33:33 - Picture burnt in my memory

33:34 - Day 2 of rescue

34:04 - Highly populated area of children with medical needs

34:27 - Helicopter getting destroyed

36:05 - Bundles of clothes were babies

38:36 - Get honored at White House. How does that happen?

38:44 - A God thing

39:09 - What made me different is I had done many flight days

40:00 - Autoimmune disorder

42:35 - Honored on behalf of crew

43:00 - Purpose

Memorial Day: 'Limitless' - Remembering Our Real Life Super Hero Jimmy Ginas - Ep 37

On this special Memorial Day episode we pay tribute to our hero Jimmy Ginas and reflect on the impact he had on our lives.

Time Stamps:

His Family

4:01 - Tim

7:47 - Stefanie

13:03 - Kevin

19:06 - Elizabeth (Read by Josh)

His Friends

21:37 - Ryan Hedrickson

22:43 - Sam Sullens

24:31 - RJ

28:43 - Chris

31:12 - Tiffany

33:08 - Destiny

33:50 - Ricky

34:26 - Alejandro

35:52 - Sherif

36:26 - Josh

49:45 - Performance by Cory Kreitzer w/slideshow