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  • Honest, detailed evaluations help everyone improve

    Throughout the last few months I've been reflecting on my journey and the changes I've seen along the way. Let's take a walk through time and discuss where we've been and where we're going. Let's start with first impressions and the very real importance of sponsors. I wasn't assigned a sponsor to my

  • House hunting: Back to basics

    House hunting can be a very stressful yet rewarding experience. Going from house to house looking for the perfect home seems daunting but with a few helpful tips from the Airman and Family Readiness Center's Home Buyer and Foreclosure Avoidance class my husband and I were prepared for the long

  • A story with meaning

    I recently finished reading the "Hunger Games" trilogy and it occurred to me that there were many lessons to be taken from just the enjoyment of reading these novels. Don't anticipate the ending. Let the author lead you through the story as she intended it to go. We spend a lot of time planning,

  • Some thoughts and hints for your career

    One of the benefits of some 28 years of combined enlisted and commissioned service, in the Reserve, Guard and Active components is having the opportunity to observe so many Airmen in action and learn from them. I have no great pearls of wisdom to share, but perhaps some shiny bits of glass you can

  • Take a break

    Not once have I ever heard "I willingly threw away a few hundred dollars last year," yet unfortunately, I cannot count the number of times I've seen Airmen of all ranks forfeit hard-earned leave throughout my career. We face one of the highest operations tempos our Air Force has ever seen. We're

  • Readiness is not just a weekend thing

     You know all the high profile tests of our readiness - the last minute missions: Operation Neptune Falcon, Banner Express, C-5 Retrograde and any and all mobilizations of our troops. The operations tempo shows no signs of slowing. These tests happen all the way down to the wing-wide Operational

  • Schooling chances help out Airmen

    My beautiful wife asks me, "When do you stop going to school?" I thought about it for a long time before I replied, "I can't." It's one of the few things I cannot do. I've tried, believe me, I have. She asked the question literally. However, I answered rhetorically. With thoughts of all the

  • Practice makes perfect in sports, armed forces

    Our Airmen are asked every day to perform extraordinary duties in the defense of our great nation with the expectation that the result of their actions is nothing less than spectacular. Failure is never an option in our line of work, so each and every Airman must continuously strive for perfection,

  • Preparation essential for food

    The temperatures are rising and the backyard grills are calling. Along with making sure the ants do not carry off your picnic basket at your Fourth of July picnics, barbecues and camping trips, ensure that no one gets sick from the bacterial contamination that can be so common with picnic food. You

  • Jefferson forged American spirit by candlelight

    The American Enlightenment was an intellectual movement during the mid-1700s. A leader of this movement, Thomas Jefferson, accepted the responsibility to write the first draft of a document that would become the culminating masterpiece of the American Enlightenment. In June of 1776, over the period