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COMMENTARIES

  • Quotes from my mobility pilot granduncle’s war diary

    From Oprah Winfrey to Mark Zuckerberg, our nation’s most successful leaders are readers. Warren Buffet spends 80 percent of his day reading. Bill Gates reads 50 books per year. Former U.S. Secretary of Defense and retired Marine general James Mattis carried around a library of 6,000 books with him,

  • It's hurricane season - But why do you care?

    I know, I know … Preparing for an unlikely disaster seems like a fool’s errand. I thought the same thing – until October 2018. I was stationed at Tyndall AFB, and I was 10 days into my deployment when a ravenous Hurricane Michael (CAT-5) suddenly devoured my base and its neighboring cities, my

  • Let our core values be your Polaris

    Almost two years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Air Force Academy with many of the leaders of 22nd Air Force where I found a beautiful base and campus full of rich history and traditions. One of the highlights was a tour of one of the newest buildings, Polaris Hall. Polaris (another name

  • Equality; How do we get there?

    There’s been a lot of discussion lately on equality. In fact, I’ve engaged with several of you over the last few weeks discussing this topic, among many others. Equality is a word with many different meanings, depending on who you talk to. My belief is that equality gets to the point that we all are

  • On integrity

    The Air Force places integrity first, because it is, without question, the most important of our core values. In its purest form, personal integrity is doing the right thing, because it is the right thing to do. Integrity serves as our moral compass, the basis for the trust imperative to military

  • Independence and diversity

    Socrates said, “To find yourself, think for yourself.” To find oneself is to find one’s independence. Independence is our ability to make decisions and live life free from the control or influence of other people. This definition would suggest that independence can be an isolating concept, but in

  • Flipping the 'switch' … Are you really there?

    Stress can and does extend from work to family time and vice versa. What sets people apart is how they approach and deal with this inevitable crossroad. For too long, I was constantly working through my to-do list from the time I got home each night until I fell asleep. While I was physically

  • Memorial Day: A Call to Remember

    For family and friends of service members killed in action, Memorial Day is a lifetime of heartache. It’s a constant whirring of what ifs.

  • Stay home - Empower lives

    DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- “Stay home. Save lives.”These words blinked on the overhead traffic sign as I drove down what was usually a jammed highway. The eerie emptiness outside reminded me of one of those apocalyptic Hollywood movie scenes – You know, the one where the protagonist is

  • Choose kindness over fear

    On a Monday afternoon, I stood outside a grocery store with about 40 people. Many of us wore masks; some wore gloves.