Commentary: Protect your Airmen Published Jan. 12, 2015 By Lt. Col. Kevin Parker 100th Civil Engineer Squadron RAF MILDENHALL, England -- As we turn the corner on a new year, many of us may be making resolutions to make 2015 a great year. If you are a supervisor I'd like to offer one resolution worthy for your consideration: protect your Airmen. You may have heard of this concept before in Professional Military Education courses, from motivational speakers, around the water cooler, or from your own experience, but it warrants a clear definition and some example areas of application. Protecting your Airmen means to shelter them from potentially harmful experiences, valuing their time, limiting their exposure to negative outcomes, and setting them up for future success. Here are a few areas where you can protect your Airmen. Additional duties Not all duties are created equal. Some are much more fulfilling than others and additional duties are where many Airmen cut their teeth as leaders. Participating in a dorm council, leading a special event planning committee or participating in a professional organization may be an Airman's first opportunity to be responsible for something broader in scope than their daily duties and put their leadership skills into practice. By performing additional duties well, Airmen identify themselves as capable of taking on more responsibility with bigger challenges. They may never know what they are capable of until they take some risk by stepping outside of their comfort zones. Tasks outside of their core function The Air Force is much larger than any Airman's specialty. Military leaders advise that relationships are key to the success of a unit and a wing. Understanding the roles, functions and challenges of other units is one way to obtain the wider perspective that is necessary to maintain positive relationships while working through cross-functional challenges. Professional organizations are a great way to build relationships and gain that perspective, but so are tasks outside our core functions. Participating in base Honor Guard, security forces augmentee duty and volunteering at the post office are great examples of growth opportunities that most Airmen don't normally experience. Long hours Enjoying time away from work and feeling like your job is important enough to be needed after-hours can be a very rewarding experience. I once had to call an Airman 1st Class back into work several hours after he had gone home. This Airman was the best qualified to perform an essential task for the U.S. Embassy by morning to allow an important project to move forward. At first, the Airman's supervisor was reluctant to call him back in to work but realized it was necessary. Several hours later this Airman beamed with pride knowing that his contribution to the mission was important. Additional duties, tasks outside their core functions and long hours are not the right things from which to protect your Airmen. Instead, embrace these opportunities to purposefully develop your Airmen as leaders. In doing so, you will protect them from being stagnant, from not realizing their full potential and from mediocrity. Our Air Force has the best Airmen in the world. This year, stand resolved to protect your Airmen by letting them prove it.