Insight: A Genuine Leader

By Ed Pierce
Managing Editor

There was no shortage of heroes to emulate when I arrived for duty in the U.S. Air Force at The Pentagon in January 1980.

Ed Pierce, left, is congratulated on his promotion to the rank
of sergeant in the U.S. Air Force by his unit commander,
Col. Gerald Bronnenberg at The Pentagon in 1980.  

While being given a tour of the building and floors where I would be working, I passed by the office of retired General of the Army Omar Bradley, who was the first-ever chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I also got to meet the U.S. Secretary of Defense at the time Harold Brown, and four-star General Lew Allen, the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff who went on to lead NASA’s investigation into the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986.

But one leader stood out above all the rest for me when I served at The Pentagon. That would be Col. Gerald E. Bronnenberg, the commander of my unit, the 2044th Communications Group.

I had never met anyone quite like him before. He embodied leadership like nobody I had served under before. It was evident that he cared about everyone who served under his command and he went out of his way to lead by example.

Staff members of our unit worked three shifts around the clock and at any given time of day or night, Colonel Bronnenberg would show up with food or free tickets to Washington Redskins football games, Baltimore Orioles baseball games or Washington Capitals hockey games. He knew everyone’s name in a unit of more than 400 personnel, but not only did he remember their names, he also would know their spouse’s names and the names of their children.

During meetings, Bronnenberg asked tough questions and expected thorough answers. He purposely established unit policies to create a sense of teamwork and accomplishment.

No idea was too far-fetched for him, and he would sit at his desk and listen patiently while being pitched with potential volunteer activities that the 2044th Communications Group could undertake to serve the community. One of those ideas was to film a television promotional spot encouraging Air Force members to volunteer for United Way events.

Bronnenberg was there when the spot was filmed and offered feedback when he was shown how it turned out. He even suggested that we use music from Lionel Richie’s song “Still” during a segment about volunteering to assist the blind.

He personally met with each new member of the unit when they first reported for duty and outlined his expectations for them. During my meeting with him, he asked what I like the most about writing and what I thought about my new unit.

The next day I was summoned to his office, and Colonel Bronnenberg told me that he wanted me to be the unit’s new Public Affairs representative and my mission was to promote the achievements and activities of the 2044th Communications Group.

That was a huge challenge for me as an E-3 Airman First Class. I had to be creative yet tactful, persistent and knowledgeable. I had to interface with Air Force officers and enlisted personnel and to remain positive about my duties all the time.

The colonel also wanted me to create events and initiatives that instilled pride in younger airmen and would give them a broad perspective of what it meant to be a part of our unit. To demonstrate unit commitment, I set up a “Stripe and Bar” exchange in unit headquarters, where Air Force members would find used rank insignia at no charge rather than having to buy them brand-new when they were promoted.

We also started a monthly luncheon for unit members and guests that included a sit-down meal and a guest speaker of interest. I was able to bring in Ernest Green as a speaker during Black History Month. He was the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Labor Department under President Jimmy Carter but also had been one of the “Little Rock Nine,” a group of black students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas following the U.S. Supreme Court’s “Brown versus Board of Education” case ordering desegregation of American schools.

Another guest speaker was Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Jim McCoy. To ask him to participate, I walked to his office and introduced myself. He agreed to speak only if he could purchase lunch that day for every airman who attended the event.

I learned in January 1981 that Colonel Bronnenberg had nominated me for Pentagon Airman of the Year for 1980 and he helped me prepare for questions I would be asked by the committee choosing the award recipient. When asked for my opinion of women serving as fighter pilots, I answered that they should be allowed to do that because I thought it was the right thing to do from a gender equality standpoint. I was later told my answer is what separated me from others being interviewed that day.

A few days before the presidential inauguration, I was presented with The Pentagon’s “Airman of the Year” award by one of Colonel Bronnenberg’s friends, Medal of Honor winner and retired General Jimmy Doolittle.

Much of my Air Force success was the result of Col. Bronnenberg’s trust in me. When I think about great leaders, his name is always at the top of my list.