SSgt Julio Alonso ALS cadre named best in AMC Published July 17, 2024 By Roland Balik 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- The Dover AFB Staff Sgt. Julio Alonso Airman Leadership School cadre was recently named the best in Air Mobility Command for 2023. Being one of the smaller ALSs in the Air Force, the schoolhouse competed against 10 other ALSs within AMC. Master Sgt. Joshua Hoffman, 436th Force Support Squadron ALS commandant, emphasized the cadre’s focus is to lay the foundation for students to be professional, war-fighting Airmen who can supervise and lead today’s work teams through the employment of air, space and cyberspace power at home and abroad. “We took the vision from our Barnes Center leadership in conjunction with our Dover leadership team,” said Hoffman. “We hit the ground running to make the school’s product, environment and culture better for, not only the staff, but also more enjoyable for the students in and around Dover who attend; that’s what sets us apart from the rest.” The cadre’s motivation and innovative ways were the catalyst for producing a top-notch schoolhouse. Hoffman, along with ALS instructors Tech. Sgt. Keishauna Howard, Staff Sgts. Osmany Linares and John De La Cruz, navigated four curriculum updates that resolved six errors and developed the new learning management system with less than 72-hours notice. “We were very excited and super grateful for the award!” said Howard. “We worked our tails off all of last year and it showed all the way to the top!” Their actions enabled the instruction of 224 Airmen from 26 Air Force Specialty Codes across eight wings, thus increasing the enrollment rate by 28 percent. Championing the Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s “Developing Airman” priority, the cadre re-arranged 78 hours of instructional blocks across seven classes allowing 16 additional critical lessons taught by 17 wing subject matter experts that covered “Safe Talk,” Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, Equal Opportunity, Emotional Intelligence, Health, Nutrition and Mental Health. Delivering on a wing commander’s high priority item, the cadre simplified the civilian ALS enrollment process by re-penning requirements, thus slashing bureaucratic red tape and ending a two-year wait for civilians wishing to attend. “It’s nice to see our hard work as a team being recognized,” said De La Cruz. “I’m not one for individual awards but this award exemplifies everything we teach to our Airmen about what it means to be a leader and most importantly, working as a team.” The schoolhouse nominated their top instructor, De La Cruz, for Air Education and Training Command’s Mobile Training Team which led to his selection for a U.S. Embassy diplomatic mission to the United Arab Emirates where they crafted and taught a 20-day professional military education course to 28 Emirate senior leaders, strengthening strategic relations and reinforcing National Military Strategy principles. “I am super blessed to have such a great team of self-starting, motivated and driven noncommissioned officers who come to work every single day to give their best effort day in and day out,” said Hoffman. “I could not be prouder of these instructors.”