Remember role in back to basics approach Published Oct. 31, 2008 By Chief Master Sgt. Michael Williams 60th Air Mobility Wing command chief TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Last week Col. Dillon and I attended Phoenix Rally at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Phoenix Rally is an event where Gen. Arthur Lichte, Air Mobility Command commander, invites his wing commanders in to discuss current and future challenges/endeavors impacting AMC and our Air Force. General Lichte kicked off the event with a slide depicting four topics: 1. Back-to-basics 2. Resources are precious 3. Times are changing 4. Focus on what we do. All great topics! However, under the topic of back-to-basics, General Lichte introduced two points that seized my attention; Colonels being Colonels and Chiefs being Chiefs. Colonels being Colonels and Chiefs being Chiefs is an insightful statement and it's at the heart of this back-to-basic approach. Think about it for a moment; if that mind set cascaded or permeated down to the lowest ranking Airman, transforming to a back-to-basic approach would be extremely easy. People would take pride in being an American Airmen and the responsibilities associated with their respective roles. For example: Tuesday I attended a briefing where we discussed alcohol related incidents, underage drinking, sexual assault prevention, suicides and other challenges we're desperately trying to contend with here at Travis and across AMC. During the course of the meeting a slide was presented reflecting a survey of supervisory support for our Airmen. Sixty-four percent were satisfied, yet the remaining thirty-six percent were neutral or unsatisfied with the support their supervisor provides. As I focused on the slide and pondered a moment, I suddenly realized that supervision is the catalyst for preventing the aforementioned challenges. Our front-line supervisors must lead from the front or get out of the way. No longer can we tolerate supervisors not being supervisors. We have no place for mediocrity and inept supervision--our Airmen deserve better! It's imperative that we break the cycle of appointing supervisors simply because a person is the highest ranking member--especially in today's Air Force. We're laboring trying to recapture our reputation of precision and reliability Airmen are deploying at a rapid speed and this institution is engulfed in transformation. We need supervisors that believe in our mantra, people are our most precious resource, and are focused on what we do. The time has come for us to make the tough call and relieve supervisors that foster an environment of fear and favoritism; facilitates an environment that stifles productivity and hinders advancement. Supervisors must create an atmosphere that's conducive to success for every Airmen and administer swift but standardized punishment. There's only one way to do things and that's the right way! All of us have the innate ability to deduce right from wrong. It's that inner voice, our conscious, that reminds us not to take short cuts, compels us to do what's right and take care of all our Airmen. Team Travis enjoy your weekend; don't eat too much Halloween candy, be safe, make responsible choices and I'll see you around campus.