JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Approximately 66 U.S. Air Force and Army company grade officers and 10 general officers from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, participated in a speed mentoring event hosted by the Company Grade Officer Council, Oct. 29, 2015.
The "Stars and Bars" event was an opportunity for CGO's to receive personal and professional advice from contributing generals.
"'Stars and Bars' presents a rare opportunity for young officers to speak candidly with their senior leaders, gleaning insight from their wealth of experience and knowledge," said 1st Lt. Alexandria Richards, 633rd Medical Support Squadron deputy flight commander. "There is no better source of professional mentoring for lieutenants and captains than the corps of veteran general officers who began in that very position."
During the event, generals from the Army and Air Force answered questions designed to spark conversation between themselves and the CGOs. The topics of discussion included balancing personal and professional lives, and overcoming mistakes over their time in service.
"'Stars and Bars' allows for mentorship and networking between not only the officer tiers but between the military branches as well," said Richards. "We wanted to encourage ordinary conversation between generals and junior officers in hopes to open a dialogue where CGOs can gain experience."
Conversations between the officer tiers can be hard to come by in a normal setting, according to Richards. The goal of the CGO Council was to, in the end, help benefit junior officers so they can have the opportunity to progress in their career.
"Some officers are lieutenant colonels before they ever have the chance to interact with general officers," said Richards. "In this hour alone, the CGOs present were able to take in more than 27 years' worth of experience that they may have otherwise not received."
The speed mentoring atmosphere allowed the CGOs to take in an excess of knowledge and experiences from not one, but 10 generals who were willing to share.
"As a CGO, sometimes it is easy to think that my struggles affect just me, but with 'Stars and Bars' I am able to learn of the similar obstacles these generals were able to overcome," said Richards. "It is nice to know the generals in this room were once junior officers who faced similar hurdles like me."
For more information on the CGOC or "Stars and Bars," contact Richards at 764-8203.