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COMMENTARIES

  • Thank those who 'generate' you this holiday

    Recently, I heard our Eighteenth Air Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Allardice verbalize an insight to our Airman culture in such a meaningful way that I'm compelled to share it with you. I do this with the hope it will inspire you in the same way it has inspired me. The metaphor is based on our

  • The final nail in the coffin, literally

    Irony abounds -- in the midst of celebrating the Year of the Air Force Family (here at our joint base its the Year of the Military Family), we started off the fiscal year with a sharp spike in vehicle-related fatalities. A sad note on so many levels ...This trend, which is being widely addressed,

  • Military family memories pressed together in a dining room table

    Its biggest job of the year is to hold the holiday meals that will be placed on it. The 2009 holiday season brings with it the first test of my craftsmanship in constructing something for our dining experience -- our family dining room table.I recently finished building this table from bits and

  • Where others have gone before

    I stared at the rain streaming down the outside of my dormitory window at the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center campus on Nov. 11. It was barely getting to be light outside as the early morning stirrings of all of us in the Combat Airman Skills Training Course were getting ready for another long

  • Inspecting our integrity, embracing higher standards

    During my last deployment, I watched as one of our chief master sergeants performed an inspection of the security forces morning guard mount. As I watched him move from Airman to Airman, I was reminded that the rite of inspecting the troops is a very old military ceremony. This ancient ceremony has

  • Why are we here?

    I would like for each of you, on Sept. 11 and the days that follow, to consider three questions or more appropriately one question three times. Why are we here? Why are we here? We are here to remember those who lost their lives eight years ago today on Sept. 11, 2001, and those who continue to do

  • Living among patriots

    Every place I live I try to make sure I have an American flag, with no rips or tears, properly displayed in the front of my home. It's not because I'm overly patriotic, it's because I'm so thankful that I live in the United States and that I have the privilege of serving as an Air Force Airman. The

  • A lifetime history lesson in a day

    Rarely in the career of an Airman can you learn so much about Air Force history in such a short time. For me, it fell into one day. That day, July 22, happened when I went to Air Mobility RODEO 2009 at McChord AFB, Wash. My job was to work my public affairs role in highlighting the competition. On

  • Without a bone marrow donor, I wouldn't be here today

    A couple of months after I PCS'd to McGuire Air Force Base, I started to get sharp pains in my abdomen. Like a normal hard-headed male, I thought to myself, "No big deal, the pain will go away." The pain continued to get worse, and after ten days I finally broke down and swallowed my pride. I went