LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas—Master Sgt. Shenett Camacho, 47th Flying Training Wing Command Post superintendent of command and control operations, found mentors throughout her career who helped guide her in work and in her personal life.
After discovering the worth of her role in the mission as an airman 1st class, Camacho decided to make the U.S. Air Force a career, and she leaned on her role models for wisdom.
“My mentors kept me on track with good old-fashioned, honest feedback,” Camacho stated. “I knew they wanted the best for me and though I received some rather ‘candid’ feedback, it was the truth, and I thanked them for that.”
With years of experience in the Air Force behind her now, Camacho says she leads her Airmen with the same goal of being completely honest with them.
“I know I sometimes provide those, ‘hard to swallow pills’ of feedback, however, in the end, they know I have their best interest [in mind] and want nothing but the best for them, just like my mentors do for me,” Camacho said.
Camacho also understands the importance of leading by example.
“All of those who I mentor know, ‘I live it how I teach it,’” she said. “It's one thing to hear what one says, but another to see them living out the lessons and values they've tried to impart on you.”
Overall, Camacho’s goal as a mentor and a senior NCO remain the same as when she was a NCO. That goal she says is to strive to be better than she was the day before and bring as many with her along the journey.