Service Before Self about sacrifice Published May 27, 2008 By Lt. Col. Reginald Ash 60th Communications Squadron commander TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- With Memorial Day only a few days behind us, it seems appropriate to talk about "Service Before Self"...the most misunderstood Air Force Core Value. I was already on active duty when the Air Force created the Core Values. At that time many of us thought, "Well, it's official now, the Air Force is more important than my family or me." Since that day 12 years ago, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on the Core Values, and now I have a totally different perspective. "Service Before Self" isn't about what's more important, it's about sacrifice. Think about "service" or the act of serving others. There's an infinite number of ways you can serve others. You can help a community outreach group that seeks to improve the lives of the economically less fortunate such as Mission Solano or Habitat for Humanity. You might serve your neighbor by cooking a meal in time of need. Churches provide a variety of ways to serve others from teaching opportunities to missions in foreign lands. Some people choose to serve by spending their time on a worthy cause, while others choose to serve that same cause with their checkbooks. Regardless of how you choose to serve others, your service involves a sacrifice. If you are serving others, you are sacrificing an important resource ... perhaps a sacrifice of time, perhaps a sacrifice of money, perhaps some other important resource. When you wear a uniform, that sacrifice is unique and much more personal. No other type of service involves the sacrifice required from the men and women in uniform and their families. When new Airmen transfer into my squadron, I never know if they requested to be at Travis working in communications or if they wanted to be somewhere far away doing something very different. The great thing about the Air Force is that Airmen will accomplish astonishing things regardless of what they wanted to be doing. The Air Force gave them a mission at Travis, and I know they'll give that mission everything they've got. It's very likely during their tour of service here, that our Airmen will deploy to an area where people will want to harm them. Beyond the Armed Forces, what other type of service requires such a sacrifice? Repeatedly our families share the sacrifices. Our spouses often give up their careers, our children usually live far from grandparents, and frequently our loved ones have to sacrifice for months while their Airmen serve the United States' interests in far off places. Our families bear this burden not because the Air Force is more important, but because they know the value of this sacrifice. If we are unwilling to fight the Global War on Terrorism, then our children will be forced to fight this war against a stronger enemy. Our parents and grandparents who served in the Armed Forces understood this concept of "service before self." It's in honor of their sacrifice -- that we remembered on Memorial Day -- which we continue to fight for freedom around the world.