GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- A flight of Goodfellow Airmen both male and female, permanent party and students, stand at parade rest in the eighty degree weather, waiting for the music. At the first note everyone stands a little straighter, preparing to render the proper respect to the nation’s flag. This started the special retreat ceremony held in front of the Norma Brown Building on Goodfellow Air Force Base, March 16.
The retreat ceremony was held in honor of Women’s History Month. Everyone was welcome to attend, even if not wanting to participate in the ceremony itself.
Tech. Sgt. Crystal Davis, 315th Training Squadron military training instructor was the lead coordinator for the event.
“We wanted to keep the event open to everyone,” said Davis. “The ceremony is to honor women who came before us, but everyone is welcome to attend all of the events that are happening on base over the next week.”
Capt. Katherine Ward, 316th Training Squadron flight commander, participated in the event as the flight commander and as a member of the planning committee for the different events scheduled in honor of Women’s History Month.
“I hope this type of retreat becomes a more regular occurrence for the different monthly observations we have on base,” said Ward. “Everyone should have a chance to participate and see what this is like.”
Ward discussed the reason for the different events scheduled for Women’s History Month. The Lean In Circle, a group established to offer more mentorship opportunities to all service members, planned the events. All service members are able to join the group to ask questions and offer mentorship.
According to an article by the Department of Defense Lean In Circles have been supported by the DOD since 2015. The goal is for all bases to have the option of a peer-to-peer or mentorship group in which service members are encouraged to have open conversations about various topics.
“Leaders on the panel for lean in are going to start asking the hard questions,” said Ward. “How do we encourage all members to step up and ‘lean in’ to become better leaders? This is what the circle is for, to ask and answer those questions.”