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COMMENTARIES

  • Spiritual Resilience--Focus on the why

    I'm currently reading a book on the Chief of Staff of the Air Force's reading list titled "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek. In his book, he chronicles the success of notable companies led by visionaries. Think of your favorite product or service. They probably came from one of the visionaries Sinek

  • Use judgment with the advice you get

    During my time in the Air Force, I have worked for many great leaders who in turn have given me tons of advice -  some good and some bad. We have all met the dorm room lawyer handing out advice. During our lifetimes, there is no shortage of tips, advice and guidance offered to us. The trick is to

  • Bend without breaking - resilience in action

    How far can we bend without breaking? That's the issue at the heart of how resilient we are. The ability to bend without breaking requires personal skills and support, regardless of whether we're talking about physically, emotionally or mentally. To develop those skills, we have to first admit that

  • Don't get crazy in the social media craze

    I spend much of my off-duty time volunteering in a local organization that works with youths ages 11 to 17. They are generally well-behaved and smart. Their styles range from skaters with skinny jeans and hoodies with skulls on them to ones who look like store-front models, with the trendiest

  • My 30 minutes with the AMC command chief

    It was a cold and snowy Friday afternoon. McChord Field, which somewhat resembled an abandoned ghost town, was covered with more than nine inches of snow. Amid the unfavorable weather conditions, Air Mobility Command's command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Richard Kaiser, was still able to visit the

  • Effective organizational communication: A commander's perspective

    Have you ever wondered how a simple task within a squadron ends up completed in error or completely forgotten? I would venture to bet that 100 percent of the time that poor communication is the root cause. In today's Air Force, we can't afford to re-accomplish a suspense; our time, manpower, and

  • Airman's two cents on Incentive Flight

    We all play vital roles to our missions' overall success. From the top-tier decision-makers, brand new Airmen and everyone in between, we embody certain elements that ensure we constantly obtain excellence as one, undivided, team.However, sometimes it's easy to forget the impact we make on the big

  • Preparing Airmen who get America to the fight

    The Mobility Operations School In ActionAt every impact point in the mobility enterprise there is a complex network of professionals trained by the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center ensuring that it's all done right. This network features units tasked to deploy equipment and personnel, aerial

  • Are you a servant-leader?

    The phrase "servant leader" was brought into the mainstream back in 1970 in an essay published by Mr. Robert Greenleaf. In this writing, he defines a servant-leader as someone who "is a servant first." Servant leadership isn't about positions and titles. Instead, it is an attitude that says people

  • First sergeants are priceless assets to their units

    In the first few years of my Air Force career and more recently over my four month tenure as an interim first sergeant, I've become increasingly familiar with a negative connotation associated with the position of the first sergeant. More often than not, when I ask the question: "What's the first