News>Feature - Dyess Airman attains perfect score on CDCs
Photos
Airman 1st Class Alexandra Hendrickson looks over paperwork July 7, 2011, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Hendrickson became one of the few Airmen to attain a perfect score on her career development courses. Hendrickson is an aviation resource manager assigned to the 7th Operations Support Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Courtney Moses)
Airman 1st Class Alexandra Hendrickson (left) poses with her supervisor, Staff Sgt. Tyler Armstrong, of the 7th Operations Support Squadron, July 7, 2011, in front of the 7th OSS award winner's board at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Hendrickson became one of the few Airmen to attain a perfect score on her career development courses. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Courtney Moses)
by Airman Charles V. Rivezzo
7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
7/12/2011 - DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- For Airmen, career development courses are the first step to becoming experts in their career fields.
Airmen can spend hours flipping through pages filled with guidelines, operating procedures and resources to accomplish the mission.
CDCs can provide a daunting task for many Airmen working to upgrade their job qualification status. Failure is not an option, so the months of necessary preparation and studying requirements can take their toll on even the most talented Airmen.
However, Airman 1st Class Alexandra Hendrickson, of the 7th Operations Support Squadron, was able to find the key to mastering the first step in her Air Force career.
On July 6, Hendrickson, an aviation resource manager, became one of the few Airmen to attain a perfect score on her CDCs.
"The test proctor held his hands up, signifying that I hadn't missed any questions," Hendrickson said with a smile. "I was ecstatic. At the time, I had no idea how rare it was to get a perfect score. I was just excited to let my squadron know how well I did."
While this feat of excellence is rare, Hendrickson is no stranger to success. She graduated high school in 2009 as valedictorian of her class, led her basic military training flight to honor flight as their dorm chief and graduated at the top of her class at technical training school.
"To say the least, Airman Hendrickson is top-notch and one of the best I have ever seen," said Staff Sgt. Tyler Armstrong, of the 7th Operations Support Squadron and Hendrickson's supervisor. "I was not surprised at all to hear that she managed to get a perfect score."
As if perfection wasn't enough, she was also able to complete all five volumes of her CDCs and test in only half the time authorized, making this accomplishment even more extraordinary.
"As soon as I got to Dyess (Air Force Base), I wanted to get started right away," said Hendrickson, who also achieved excellence on her physical training evaluation. "Any downtime I had, whether at the shop or at home, I spent studying. I made flashcards, used the self-test questions, referred to my tech school notes and did a whole bunch of highlighting."
One would think some downtime would be in order after an accomplishment such as this, but not for this sports enthusiast.
"I played every sport while I was in high school, so I enjoy staying active and fit as well," Hendrickson said. "Running, basketball and rollerblading with my husband are some of my personal favorites."
Hendrickson plans to continue working towards her Community College of the Air Force degree in aviation management and continue on to eventually earn her bachelor's degree in nursing.
"The sky is the limit for Airman Hendrickson," Armstrong said.
Comments
7/21/2011 7:16:24 PM ET Let's not get excited. Just because she scored 100 on her CDCs that does not mean she should instantly go LEAD ASCP or SOAR. The enlisted corps can use a bright Airman until she decides to become a nurse...after she has learned her current job hands-on.
Capt Obvious , SATX
7/20/2011 10:43:17 PM ET A1C Hendrickson is a motivated Airman but both her and her leaders need to ensure she does not push herself or get pushed to or past the breaking point and burn out. Her leaders also need to ensure they don't force her success down the throats of her peers and set her up on a pedistool. All this will do will cause resentment from her peers and cause her to get an inflated ego. Also her leaders should not put her up for everything that comes along so she can excel and thus cause her to be away from work and make her coworkers take up the slack becuase she is at onther volunteer thing high profile event etc.
WP, Far East
7/20/2011 2:46:25 PM ET Way to represent 1 Charlies! Congratulations on this achievement.
A1C Chamberlain, Eglin AFB
7/18/2011 3:17:42 PM ET Congratulations. This is an awesome acheivement. I have been a UTM 3S271 for 11 years and have never seen anyone score 100 on 5 level CDCs. I have seen a couple 100s on 7 level CDCs but never on 5 level. You have a bright future ahead. Good luck with your career.
MSgt T., GA
7/18/2011 2:08:33 PM ET Airman Hendrickson, congratulations. You've certainly demonstrated the core value of Excellence in All You Do in both your AF career and before. You're a roll model for all Airmen. I've never heard of anyone scoring a hundred but it shows what's possible when you set a goal and have determination to meet it. Good luck in your career where ever it takes you.
CMSgt T. Servati, Holloman AFB NM
7/18/2011 10:18:22 AM ET I appreciate everyone's opinion but I hope to clear things up for you. In my opinion part of learning your job is knowing your CDCs. A1C Hendrickson got a perfect score on her CDCs so common sense would tell you that she is doing very well at learning her job too. Trust me when I say that she is the dream troop that every supervisor wishes for. Not only is she doing very well at her job but she has already completed a CLEP, signed up for classes and is extremely active in her community. Her next goals are to finish her 5-lvl complete her CCAF win BTZ and ultimately become a commissioned officer. If I were a betting man I would put my money on her. One last thing to point out, not only did she achieve an excellent PT score but was awarded as the Top Female PT Performer at BMT. Impressive to say the least. She sets a great example for everyone to follow.
Tyler, Dyess
7/18/2011 8:58:00 AM ET Congratulations, A1C Hendrickson on your accomplishment. Keep pushing yourself to excel in your career field and choose the path that is the perfect fit for your AF career. @JAFSO, those comments were not jealousy. Some of us old crusty NCOs have seen and worked with too many book-smart fast burners who just could not do the job. D was just stating a fact.
Terri M, Illinois
7/17/2011 11:35:27 AM ET Great achievement - I hope the USAF sees the potential of this Airmen and gets her to nursing school and she in turn comes back as a commissioned Air Force nurse. I sense some animosity out there -- there's nothing to suggest she doesn't know her job too. Perhaps and hopefully she's job- and book-smart and these comments are purely jealousy.
JAFSO, Saddle Rock CO
7/16/2011 9:18:41 PM ET Congrats! Many individuals hear the rumors of being investigated for attaining a perfect score, therefore it is not the ultimate goal of the average Airman. More importantly the job must be learned and we as an Air Force need to stop relying on test to be ultimate determining factors in promotions. It really isn't helpful to have a great test taker who doesn't know the job, especially down range. Choosing A, B, C and D won't protect you down range.
D.Graves, GM
7/15/2011 4:18:23 PM ET EXCELLENCE IN ALL WE DO....she gets it
Maj, MAJCOM HQ
7/15/2011 12:47:08 AM ET Valedictorian enlisted in the Air Force. Thanks for bestowing the enlisted force with your far superior intellect.
Mike, WA
7/14/2011 11:42:37 PM ET Congrats on a good score. I would suggest that the next step is learning her job.
Sgt Whoever, conus
7/14/2011 3:21:57 PM ET There's no denying she is a top-notch troop. But I've seen this happen before. Good troops are pushed to perform before they are ready and crack under the pressure. Don't make her a statistic, give her room to breathe.
Steve, Midwest
7/14/2011 12:37:55 PM ET Congratulations and I hope that you continue your course to become a front runner in the enlisted ranks and maybe even become the youngest CMSgt, which would place you in a good position to mentor others. A young Chief with a Phd! How could anyone beat that accomplishment?
Phantom Maintainer Retired, Ohio
7/14/2011 11:26:52 AM ET She is married and therefore not allowed to go to the AF Academy. Great job on your testing!
SM, NM
7/13/2011 11:01:33 PM ET Congratulations on achieving a perfect score on your CDCs as well as accomplishing so much in such a short period of time. I would say this stellar Airman is already a leader in her unit by her example. Additionally, while I agree that the USAF Academy seems to be a good fit, I feel that as a SNCO we could guide her towards possibly becoming a Chief one day if she is interested in that route. I would say she already demonstrates the potential to achieve the highest enlisted rank. I hear many individuals in various forums talking about grooming young enlisted to become an officer in order to lead in the AF but let us not forget that there are many paths of leadership including staying enlisted.
First Sergeant, JBMDL
7/13/2011 4:51:37 PM ET Congratulations. This is just one of her significant achievements. From this short piece this young airman appears to be a perfect choice for the LEAP program and future entry into the USAF Academy. A possible future leader of our Air Force.
