Set goals, be the best you can be Published June 2, 2006 By Col. Steve Arquiette 60th AMW commander TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Thank you for keeping Safety at the forefront of your activities as we all took time to relax and reflect over this past Memorial Day weekend. Please be sure to not let your guard down throughout the 101 Critical Days of Summer and continue to watch out for your Wingman. As our ops tempo continues to move full speed ahead into the summer and we face notable changes within our ranks, it is important we constantly refine our personal and professional goals, take pride in the work we do and enhance the environment we operate out of. By continuously focusing on our personal and professional discipline, we will make ourselves, as individuals and as a team, the best we can be! A good way of doing this is to keep a list of some short- and long-term goals that will challenge you to be the best Airmen and person you can be. Whether it is earning another stripe, completing your degree or buying a home, each goal should help you focus on advancing to the next echelon in your life. While each person's goals will vary, make sure they are feasible, but also challenging. Reaching a goal should instill a feeling of pride and accomplishment once it is achieved, so make sure the bar is set high! Once your goals are set, make sure you tailor your daily activities in a way that will help roadmap your way to reaching them. By taking pride in your personal and professional activities on a daily basis, you will find your tasks far less daunting. Whether it is coming to work with a pressed uniform, giving 100 percent at PT or even sitting down to a daily family dinner, taking pride in everything you do will breed the discipline needed to be successful. Keep your goals the focus every day, and you will never lose sight of where you want to go. While it is important to take pride in your personal appearance, everyone should also take pride in where they work and live. We are all lucky to be assigned to such a beautiful base, but without everyone's help, it is hard to maintain. By picking up a piece of trash or reporting facilities in need of repair, you take an active role in maintaining this showcase base. I'm working hard with our base appearance team to eliminate the eye sores currently in base housing, many of which are associated with surplus housing units; tall grass, clutter, etc. If you live in base housing, I expect your yards to be mowed and trimmed. Having pride in our homes is important, and I'm glad to see many yards around the base that are beautiful. I would hope people take pride in their home, but as an extra incentive, expect weekly inspections to return as well as recognition for Yard of the Month in the various areas. On the same note, please take pride in your work offices. While the C-17 bed down is bringing a lot of new construction and facilities to the base, maintaining the older buildings is expected until we can demolish them. Taking pride in what you do and what condition you work in will continue to make Team Travis the place to be! Speaking of C-17s, I hope everyone takes the opportunity to visit the "C-17s are Coming" event on the flightline today. Set up to help educate the base populace, there is a C-17 static display, aerial demonstration and a Boeing booth. The C-17 bed down is a major event for Team Travis, so come and enjoy the demonstrations and burger burn. Lastly, a big thank you goes to the Asian Pacific American Heritage Committee for hosting a wonderfully entertaining banquet on Tuesday night! Stay Proud & Be Safe!