PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AIR RESERVE STATION -- Once a month, Steel Airmen at the 911th Airlift Wing swarm and disperse like a hive of bees as they perform their duties, attend briefings, and conduct ceremonies throughout the base. Following in their footsteps is a stream of young men and women touring the base and learning what it means to be a part of the hive. They are trainees from the Development and Training Flight (D&TF) embarking on a future with the Air Force Reserve.
The Air Force Reserve believes everyone plays a critical role to achieve mission success - so when it recruits, it recruits for the mission. Tech. Sgt. Joseph Dukes, Development and Training Flight coordinator, plays the critical role of introducing these recruits to the Air Force Reserve.
To say he sets the standard is an understatement. Not only is Dukes the 911th D&TF coordinator but he trains all coordinators Reserve-wide and is the programs budget manager.
“I like to go above and beyond to make sure they have a little more than just your basics,” Dukes elaborated, “so our trainees here at the 911th are more than prepared for operational training.”
The purpose of the program is to familiarize trainees with basic but essential standards such as professional conduct and physical fitness, while ensuring they are correctly processed into administrative systems. Staples like the Air Force Song, Airman’s Creed, Core Values, and Rank recognition and chain of command knowledge are also taught as a requirement for success in the training environment.
However, the ultimate goal, according to Dukes, is to build a foundation that bridges a civilian mindset with a military one. This training is designed to enrich their confidence and, in turn, their future role as a Reserve Airman. Tapping into the minds of these recruits requires a higher level of care for people and a passion for their future - something he believes is essential to the program.
“You have to care about people when you're doing this job,” said Dukes. “If you don't care, you're in the wrong line of business, and you're not the type of coordinator these trainees deserve.”
As a result of serving four years in the honor guard, three of those years as head trainer, Dukes prides himself on an attention to detail and passion for people which calls him to rise above simply doing the minimum. Dukes claims his roles in the honor guard and now as the D&TF coordinator are among the most rewarding positions of his career, and they have greatly influenced his leadership style.
“As a member of the honor guard, you play a role in the final ceremony for a retiring veteran,” Dukes explained, “but in doing this, you play a huge role in the beginning of a recruit’s career as an Airman.”
His flight members are able to witness how his career has come full circle; in such a way that they feel the benefits of this experience.
Trainee George Mascio II has put his life on hold to integrate himself, his wife, and his three children into the Reserve. At 29 years old, he awaits basic training at Lackland and is taking full advantage of the program to prepare himself, as well as his family, for this life-changing step.
“Everything just flows so much easier after attending the D&TF,” explained Mascio. “I know when I get down there [Basic Military Training] the fear will be gone. My confidence level has risen because I know I am set for success.”
Dukes’ leadership is the kind that cultivates the motivation that lifted a hand in oath; it supports it through basic training and carries it onward to a career. For someone like Mascio, it is comforting to have this guidance prior to entering a training environment without his family by his side.
Having attended his fourth and final D&TF assembly in May, Mascio said, “it's truly what you make of it. The program has been super beneficial because it [BMT standards] is one less thing I have to worry about.”
Once he steps off the bus at Lackland, the pressure of the unknown and the expectations can be a lot to bear. While it is a challenge the military expects all recruits to rise to, having the necessary preparation may very well help him overcome it.
For graduated Airmen who have attended the program in the past, they might pause during the buzzing weekend – as they change the oil on a C-17, snap an x-ray of someone’s teeth, or even write a story about a highly regarded program – to reflect on how the D&TF helped them achieve a career in the Air Force.
Senior Airman Samantha Mahr, 911th Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, reflects on her time attending the D&TF as she uses a sphygmomanometer to measure an Airman’s blood pressure. On a busy weekend at the 911th Air Wing, the ASTS needs people like Mahr to check the medical readiness of approximately 1,500 Steel Airmen.
After enlisting in June of 2023, she attended nine D&TF training assemblies before shipping to BMT for about two months, and ended her five-month medical technician training at Travis AFB. According to Mahr, however, it was the nine months of preparation in the D&TF program that solidified her military ethic.
“You don’t have to,” said Mahr, “you want to.”
To an Airman like Mahr, serving in the Air Force Reserve was that ‘want’ and the D&TF program was a privilege she felt was valuable in helping her attain it.
“Everything Sgt. Dukes taught us in D&TF played a big part in my personal preparation for BMT,” said Mahr. “It gets you into that mindset so you don't even think twice about what’s expected of you when you get there.”
From the moment she enlisted as a recruit to serving as a medical professional today, she continues to accomplish her goals and volunteers to do more – not because she has to, but because she wants to.
Not long after returning to the 911th as a new Steel Airman, she was “coined”, a commendation in which a member is singled out for going above and beyond their duties and given a coin, by the ASTS commander, Col. Erik Baldwin. According to Mahr, the squadron had undertaken a large influx of medical supplies, scheduled appointments, and administrative processing that required all hands on deck. She stepped up to the plate and accomplished tasks that are not typically requested of new Airmen.
The recognition she received for her efforts is a reflection of her military ethic which took root during the D&TF program and, for Mahr, is a source of great personal pride.
The D&TF program provides our Steel Airmen with a foundation that lasts. It nurtures a drive to become a part of the hive – a unified, mission-driven, and talented force that serves with pride. With Airmen like Dukes, Mascio, and Mahr, the Air Force Reserve can boast that it strives to push beyond the standard, further cementing its vast capabilities and mission “to fly, fight and win – airpower anywhere, anytime.”