Experiencing legacy of caring forms leader's traits

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Chad Ballance
  • 60th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  I want to share with you three of life's lessons that have shaped the way I lead today.

They are simply sweeping a garage, digging a pool and taking care of family members. Let's take a trip through my life, starting with a lesson on how to sweep your garage.

At the age of 10, I started to get more chores and one of them was sweeping the garage. Our home happened to be located outside of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., so it was windy and extremely dusty. It was my first day on the job, so I quickly completed the task and ran in the house to tell my father that I was done.

He came out to inspect and almost instantly walked back in the house, saying, "Do it again."

This continued upwards of 10 times, before my father said, "Do it right the first time and do it right every time."

Today, our Air Force demands this of every Airman and we deliver!

After sweating from sweeping the garage, every kid wants to jump in a pool. The problem was, I didn't have a pool.

I asked my father for a pool and his response shocked me, "You dig it and I will build it."

For 30 days or so, I did just that. I spent countless hours by myself trying to break the concrete. I mean dig a hole. Unable to get deeper than two inches in all those days, I did what every great leader does. I rallied as many kids from the neighborhood to assist me.
Running a crew between 10 and 15 kids, we finally had achieved a two foot hole. I went to my father and being a man of his word he gave me a pool 4-ft-above-ground pool with a deep end about two feet deeper. If we want something bad enough we can make it happen.

Fast forward to December 2012, the day I called my father and told him that, "We did it. We did it. We made Chief."

I am a chief master sergeant-select today because my father taught me the lesson of never giving up on my dreams. Travis, never give up on digging your own pool.

Shortly after our Las Vegas pool was built, our first family member arrived on hard times. My mother took care of them, getting them back on their feet and even establishing their own residence in the community. My mom never stopped taking care of family members that needed assistance. For more than 20 years, she took care of my uncle who has Down syndrome. I believe that my mother embodies our core value of service before self. She has continuously and without complaint put other's needs first.

My chance to embrace this behavior came with an early morning phone call to the Airmen Leadership School at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in 2000. No one was in the office except me, so I answered the phone and it was a young lady looking to place a disabled veteran with a sponsor. This retired master sergeant was too much for her organization to handle and thought that a leadership school staff could handle him. I did.

I did what my mom had taught me. I cared for one of my family members for almost two years. I cut his grass, took him to all of his appointments, to dinner, brought him into the school to tell his story, but most importantly, I was there whenever he needed me.

Two years after we met, I had to make a permanent change of station to Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. Two weeks after my departure, like so many close relationships, the retired sergeant passed away. I cried, but rejoiced in the opportunity to make a difference for one of my Air Force family members as he had done the same for me.
These lessons have made me a better son, husband, father and Airman. I hope that we all learn from our life lessons.