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Faith, family, Air Force

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Richard Sanders
  • 628th Civil Engineer Squadron commander
In the fall of 1998, I was in a room at the Pentagon with 49 other captains. We'd heard from several senior leaders during the past several weeks and were waiting on another colonel to brief us. Previous topics from other leaders were typically on the mission of the organization from which they came or their philosophy on leadership. Today's would be different ...

Col "X," he's a three-star general officer today, came in and wrote three letters on the board, "FFA," and challenged us to tell him what they stood for. We were thinking it was some super-secret organization or agency that we would be briefed on. Instead, he stated they stood for his priorities in life: his faith, his family and his Air Force -- in that order. He encouraged us to set our own priorities similarly and went on to explain why. I've since adopted the acronym for my own priorities and want to write about why FFA is important to me.

My faith is the foundation for who I am, what I do, how I do it and who I want to become. Faith means different things to different people, but each of us has a responsibility to ensure we are spiritually fit. The Enlisted Force Structure Air Force Instruction charges Airmen to "Maintain the highest level of personal readiness to meet mission requirements" and specifically, "Be spiritually ready to accomplish the mission. Spiritual readiness is the development of those personal qualities needed to help a person through times of stress, hardship, and tragedy." Air Mobility Command recently launched its Comprehensive Airman Fitness concept and stated "health is more than physical fitness: it includes mental, social and spiritual fitness." We'll hear more about Comprehensive Airman Fitness in the near future, but in the meantime, in addition to physical training, add some spiritual training to your daily routine.

The second F stands for family. While our faith stays with us for eternity, according to what I believe, our family lasts for as long as we're here on earth. For many of us, that means it will last longer than our active duty time in the Air Force. One of my fellow squadron commanders with the 628th Security Forces Squadron, Maj. Chris Callis, wrote a great commentary in February about balancing family and profession and choosing between 'important' and 'urgent.' It's worth a read (or re-read) and can be found at http://www.charleston.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123188615.

This is a priority for the Chief of Staff of the Air Force too. He released his "Vector" on July 4 and briefly stated what the Air Force has done during the past 12 months of the Year of the Air Force Family - great initiatives were delivered and more are on the way. Bottom line: love your family and take care of them.

Finally, the A stands for Air Force. I'll bet some of you are already thinking "The Air Force is your last priority? What about Service Before Self?" In my opinion, the two are not mutually exclusive. In a Feb. 9, 2009, commentary (found at www.charleston.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123137209), then Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Rodney McKinley defined service before self and gave several great examples of both what it is and what it is not. Servant leadership is a tenant I try to follow as I apply service before self. One way I live out these priorities is in the assignment process. First, I pray that God sends me where he needs me, both for his purposes, what's best for my family and where I can best serve the Air Force. Second, I discuss my "dream sheet" with my wife and we come to a shared list of preferences. Third, like you, I am a volunteer, and I go where the Air Force needs and sends me.

When I left Washington D.C., in the summer of 2000, I had accumulated a huge set of tools in my mental toolbox and was ready to conquer the world. A decade later, my most significant "take away" is still FFA from Col X.

I encourage you to define and nurture your own FFA priorities as well.