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  • Be mindful of Air Force when making decisions

    Recently, we were visited by the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center Commander, Maj. Gen. Frederick Martin.  During his remarks at an all call with members from the Contingency Response Wing, he mentioned that he had enlisted in the Air Force in 1981, but joined the Air Force in 1989.Intrigued,

  • Why do you serve? Family spurs colonel

    "Why do you serve?"  How many times have we all been asked that simple question?  What motivated, and probably still motivates, you to serve in the military services of the United States?I, myself, am embarrassed at times to answer with the short answers of "for my country," "it's my duty,"

  • Retiring chief reflects on career of ‘living the dream’

    When I talk to Airmen and ask them how they are doing, the most common response I get is "Living the dream, chief."Sometimes I wonder if they are truly living the dream or telling me what they think I want to hear. As I reflect on my nearly 30 years of service, I can honestly say I could have never

  • Air Force's dynamic duo: Leaders and followers

    When is the last time you thought about leadership?  What about followership? Our work environments are built around both of these core functions and their quality determines the effectiveness of the organization. What kind of a leader and follower are you?  How can you improve your leadership and

  • Ask why, then follow up with innovation

    One of the most powerful questions for the ages is why? If you are a graduate from that fine institution known as the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, you immediately think, "No excuse, sir/ma'am." Once you get past the canned response and drill down to a problem or process with this

  • Information can disarm AFIS, MICT initialisms

    I know many people see the initialisms for Air Force Inspection System or Management Internal Control Toolset and run for the hills. But hopefully with some new knowledge we can stop running off in a mad dash. So what is AFIS and how does MICT contribute to this new program?  AFIS is the process

  • Chance meeting is reminder to aid others

    In my prior assignment, I was a "chaplain recruiter." Yes, chaplains are recruited too. As you might imagine, it was a job that took me many places and introduced me to many faces.  On a summer trip to Mobile, Alabama, I attended a conference of the Methodist church, looking for potential

  • Reaction to challenges shapes attitudes

    There's a ton of junk on the Internet on which you can waste hours of your life.Occasionally, you run across something that resonates.  One that I found truly profound was a link a co-worker shared about a presentation a professor by the name of Randy Pausch gave called "The Last Lecture."  I'm

  • What kind of person are you?

    What kind of person are you? I hope that grabs your attention. What a question like that really means is are you the kind of person I can appreciate, understand, care about? Someone I can value?For those of us in the Air Force, it's simple to add "Airman" in place of "person." For the Air Force, we

  • Leaders not born, but made through training

    How many classes, lectures and books have you seen on the topic of leadership?In my career I couldn't even give you an accurate count, but suffice to say, from basic military training until your retirement ceremony, this topic ranks near the top if not the most coveted traits that we all desire to