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  • Live by our core values

    In 1995, the Air Force adopted its formal core values: Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence In All We Do. I am confident every Airman can recite them and give an eloquent explanation of their meaning. If you don't understand the reason our senior leaders instituted our core values, you

  • BEEliners Forge The Fightin' 817th EAS!

    Darkness sets in a hazy blanket over a remote airfield in Afghanistan. Dusty shades of brown that permeate everything, even the dull blue skies above, gently dissolve into blackness. On the ground, the airbase is a flurry of activity as Airmen go about their tasks, each an integral piece in an

  • Team Travis rallies to help family in need

    Senior Air Force Leadership has designated July 2009 through July 2010 as the "Year of the Family." This concept of the "Air Force Family" means focusing on relationships both with your family - near or far, and with your fellow Airmen. As we reflect on families, the sign of any strong family is not

  • Back to Basics: What’s your excuse?

    Being about a year away from my retirement, I thought I'd seen everything. What I saw recently reminded me I can still be surprised - or appalled.As I arrived to work one morning, I saw two staff sergeants and two senior airmen standing outside on the sidewalk. As they stood there, a colonel walked

  • Knowing when to lead and when to follow

    Many of us spend a large portion of our day as a follower and very little time filling a traditional leadership role. Yet the Air Force invests a lot of time and money with the hope of making us great leaders with little attention given to the art of followership. Why do you suppose that is? In most

  • What you do reflects who you are

    The decisions you make in all facets of everyday life say so much about who you are as a person. Regardless of where you fit within society and the Air Force family, your actions reflect positively or negatively on you and those closest to you. So why do people make good and bad decisions? First,

  • Fitness: Let's stay on message

    We have a challenging new fitness program that is upon us! The message is pretty darn clear: the Air Force expects a leaner and fitter Airman.I cannot be watching over what my people eat 24/7, nor can I be jogging beside Airmen every day, coaxing them to jog faster. Believe me, I have tried

  • Deployment: A reality for today’s Airmen

    There are two types of Airmen serving in today's Air Force: those who have deployed and those who are going to deploy. Whether serving on active duty, in the Air National Guard or with the Air Force Reserves, the expeditionary force is no longer just concept to our warriors in uniform. More than

  • Back to Basic(s)

    Many of us are familiar with the book by Robert Fulghum "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." I think the title of this book should be adapted by today's Air Force, particularly when you consider one of the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force's top priorities is getting

  • Be significant…

    Last November, I was notified that I was a selected to become a chief. I had the great honor of traveling to my major command to attend a week-long conference with my fellow chief-selects for our orientation. It was three days of information sharing with five meals in between. I thought, "Wow! I