• A service-before-self mentality

    Do you have a service-before-self mentality? Do you take advantage of leadership opportunities? If you were nominated for a Developmental Special Duty, how would you respond if it was in a role you felt uncomfortable with? Would you volunteer to go on a deployment today if the opportunity presented

  • When leaders earn their keep

    It's no secret that a key to being a good leader, military or otherwise, is taking care of your people. I strongly believe Airmen aren't able to perform at their peak if their personal lives are in disarray. Whether financial woes, marital issues, illnesses or other troubles, it's tough to be at

  • Air Force heritage takes center stage at FTAC

    The First Term Airmen Center is where Airmen learn the ropes of what it's like in the operational Air Force when they arrive at their first duty station.The week-long course lasts eight hours a day and introduces Airmen to many different base agencies and leadership.At first I was leery about FTAC.

  • Newest fighter pilots go forth from Luke with "Strength and Honor!"

    Today marks the culmination of nine months of demanding aviation training for sixteen students from the 308th Fighter Squadron B-Course, Class 14-BBG. These warriors will go forth as newly minted F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter pilots, ready to do their nation's bidding. The journey to fly the world's

  • If you build it, will they come?

    One of my favorite movies as a child was "Field of Dreams." It's a movie about a farmer from Iowa who was inspired to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield. While working in his field one day he heard a voice saying, "If you build it, they will come." He was so convinced that he should build the

  • Facing Adversity

    If you have served in the Air Force for any amount of time, you've likely realized that facing adversity is part of the job. Whether you are trying to ready your family for your first deployment or trying to prioritize your time between work, family, and off-duty professional development, there will

  • Taming the "Tyranny of the Urgent"

    Many Airmen lead incredibly busy lives, full of unfinished tasks. We often wish that we had more hours in the day to fit it all in. In our professional lives, budgets remain tight, the Air Force is shrinking, and we are challenged to do more with less. Yet the demands on our time never seem to

  • Can we ask too much of Airmen who refuse to fail?

    Leadership comes with a cost to those being led, and it is incumbent upon Air Force leaders to ensure that planning, resources and military necessity are equal to the sacrifices being exacted on our people. Never was that calculus ever so strained as on Black Thursday, October 14, 1943.Black

  • A culture of excellence – Do you rent or own?

    Military service culture has always had deep roots in tradition, history and folklore. Over time, policies, people, geography, circumstances and tragedies can also influence the panorama of our essence and shape the way we live, fight and behave. After the last ten years, no one can say that our Air

  • The Officer Training School advantage

    This is my Officer Training School story.My journey to the United States Air Force actually began when I was in college. No, I did not participate in the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Oklahoma. Instead, I was a "normal" student recruited by OU's College of Engineering. I became

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