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  • Education crucial for Airmen

    Each of us, for many different reasons, decided to take an oath to defend and protect our country against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. After graduating from high school, I determined that twelve consecutive years of school was enough. I wanted to do something other than wander around a

  • Making good decisions essential to success

    Baseball season is just around the corner, and it couldn't come any sooner. I grew up playing softball, and when my softball days were over, I transferred my love of playing that game to watching the next best thing, Major League baseball. As a diehard baseball fan, it was very disappointing to

  • Travis Airmen make the mission happen

    As we bid farewell and Godspeed this week to the members of the deploying 21st Airlift Squadron, I reminded them that they and their C-17 Globemasters will be playing a vital role in supporting U.S., and coalition ground forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Having just returned from my four-month

  • The "whole-person" concept is more than just volunteering!

    Bluesuiters have long heard the phrase "whole person concept" but what does it really mean? What's the bottom line? Have we mumbled this mantra so often that somehow we've lost focus of the underlying philosophy? We all know how important it is to show a willingness to be team players, to play a

  • Be good...do good...for good

    Did you know that our Air Force core values are the end result of philosophers debating for thousands of years? Throughout history, moralists advanced and built on theories meant to examine one's life and to separate the good from the not-so-good. Philosophical giants like Socrates, Kant, Hobbes,

  • Exercise will test base's incident response

    Another busy week as we once again showcased why Team Travis is "America's First Choice." As we continued to prepare for our upcoming Unit Compliance Inspection, Logistics Standardization and Evaluation Programs Inspection, Safety Program Evaluation, Emergency Management Exercise and Air Force-level

  • Empowerment leads to great Wingmen

    Monday we will celebrate President's Day, so I thought I would take a moment to share a leadership trait of the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. In June of 1863, President Lincoln put the command of the Army of the Potomac into the hands of General George G. Meade. Within hours of the appointment,

  • Avoid the fallacy of the "go-to guy"

    You see it in Air Force performance reports all the time: "Go-to guy." So it must be a good thing, right? Wrong. "Go-to guy" is not so much a compliment as a warning, a flashing red light signaling a potential single point of failure to a vigilant commander. A go-to guy is a band-aid that can hide a

  • Rules are in place for a reason

    We, Travis Air Force Base, have recently experienced several alcohol-related incidents. I'll venture to say those incidents were not the first time those particular individuals committed acts unbecoming of an Airman. And, it's more than likely someone witnessed them not adhering to a standard or

  • Don't let drug abuse end your career

    I read in the newspaper recently that American cities and counties are grappling with methamphetamine abuse. Maybe you saw it too; Meth addiction in some parts of our country is so prevalent that the community fabric is being ripped apart, socially and economically. Parents and children are being