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COMMENTARIES

  • Saluting those 'Above All' Airmen

    As I was standing on stage in the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center's Grace Peterson Hall before 90 of the toughest Airmen you'll ever meet. Midway through talking to them, I had the realization dawn on me that these Airmen were soon heading off to war. It's not an unusual thing to think about at

  • Airman-to-Airman, this is for you

    When I first came to Charleston, I had no idea what to expect. I had just returned from leave, and all I really knew about my job was what I learned from tech school. So was I nervous? Heck yeah, I was! But during the next few hours, the butterflies in my stomach quickly died away. I was introduced

  • Combat skills training creates stronger Airmen

    I returned April 18 from two weeks of training that I may never use -- two weeks of crawling through mud, running with 40 pounds of body armor strapped to my shoulders and head and eating field rations. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. The training I attended was the Air Force's Advanced

  • 10 helpful tips for long, successful Air Force career

    A few years ago, I read an article written for an Air Force base paper in England. It was written by captain on the Area Defense Counsel. In it, he discussed -- from his experiences -- the top ten things an Airman could do to stay out of trouble. I've had the opportunity to command five different

  • Earn This

    In the summer of 1998, there was a lot of discussion in the media about the opening 10 minutes of the film "Saving Private Ryan" and how traumatic it might be for our greatest generation, those who actually stormed the beaches at Normandy and lived to tell us their tales. As I sat in a very cold

  • Are you ready?

    Seriously, are you ready? The Air Force of today is significantly different than the Air Force I joined 18 years ago. I can't imagine how different it is for our Senior Leaders. Part of that difference is that we are a more expeditionary force, a more fit force and a more intelligent force. Today I

  • A Ride To Remember

    The back end of a mighty C-130 Hercules at any altitude has never been considered a comfortable place. During flight, a steady vibration shakes all aboard; the passengers, who are rarely afforded knee or elbow room, wear earplugs to help block out the hum of the propellers which continuously cut

  • Flexibility really is the key to airpower

    It's Friday afternoon, and all seems quiet around Charleston AFB. A staff sergeant is in the protocol office planning her weekend. The phone rings and it's the command post, and they're telling her a distinguished visitor is on board a C-21 set to arrive on base in 30 minutes. She has the

  • First sergeant thanks you for serving

    When I enlisted in 1983, the world was a very different place. Russia was our enemy, the one computer our unit had was large enough to fill an entire room and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" created a new form of entertainment called the music video. "Back in the day," many of us joined the Air Force