Are you ready?

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Michael Dean
  • 321st Air Mobility Operations Squadron

Growing up in the Midwest, I loved to play sports. In fact, there wasn’t a sport I wasn’t fond of. However, the sport I loved most and was best at, was football.  In middle school, I was on the field the majority of the game because of my boundless, natural gifts and abilities. Oh, and the fact we simply didn’t have a lot of players to choose from.

When I got to high school, the competition became much stiffer and I quickly found myself watching the game from the sideline. Initially, I was upset as I thought the coaches didn’t know what they were doing.  Eventually, I resigned myself to the fact that some of my teammates were simply better than I was at that time.

One day, my father gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever received: “Michael, you never know when your number will be called and you have to always be ready to go.”  Internalizing this and taking it to heart, I was driven to be the first one in the weight room in the morning and vowed that no one was going to finish before me during wind sprints at the end of practice.  Then, it happened. The starting tight end got hurt and I quickly found myself in the game.  All the hard work and preparation were being put to the test.  The countless hours memorizing plays and practicing blocking and pass catching soon paid off as we went on to win the game, and eventually play in the state championship. 

Earlier this year, Air Force senior leaders unveiled five new Air Force priorities; one of which is “Restore Readiness…to win any fight, any time.” In the 321st Air Mobility Operations Squadron, one of the commander’s priorities is “Always ready.”

Recently, the 321st AMOS found themselves quickly pivoting from the Korean peninsula to hurricane relief in support of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. A number of members were called upon to support the 601st Air Operations Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The key to their success was that they were both physically and mentally ready to go when called upon. They did this by being worldwide qualified and having a personal contingency plan.

Are you physically prepared to work as long as needed to accomplish the mission? Are all of your affairs in order? Does your family have a plan when you must leave within 12 hours of notification? No one hopes for natural disasters or contingency operations to happen in the world that requires our attention, but the fact of the matter is they do, and we must always be ready to answer our nations call.

We do not plan the future and much of what happens to us is beyond our control. What we can do is prepare to deal with it when it rolls in. Are you ready to win any fight, any time? Are you ready to enter the game when your number is called?