Empowerment leads to great Wingmen

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. James Pepin
  • 60th Mission Support Squadron superintendant
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Monday we will celebrate President's Day, so I thought I would take a moment to share a leadership trait of the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln.

In June of 1863, President Lincoln put the command of the Army of the Potomac into the hands of General George G. Meade. Within hours of the appointment, Lincoln sent a courier to him. The President's message, in part, said:

"Considering the circumstances, no one ever received a more important command; and I cannot doubt that you will fully justify the confidence which the Government has reposed in you. You will not be hampered by any minute instructions from these headquarters. Your army is free to act as you may deem proper under the circumstances as they arise ... All forces within the sphere of your operation will be held subject to your orders."

Meade's first significant challenge came as he commanded the army at a small Pennsylvania town named Gettysburg. It was a test he passed with authority. Meade stopped Lee's army when it counted, and prevented the Confederate general from moving on Washington.

Empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes. The men and women of the Air Force are empowered with the awesome responsibility to preserve and protect the citizens of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This is not a responsibility we should take lightly.

We are also empowered with making responsible choices regarding our actions. We must ensure that our actions and the actions of those around us reflect credit on ourselves and the United States Air Force. In other words, being a great "Wingman." When one member of our team fails to make responsible choices the consequences can have a lasting effect on all. This is also a responsibility we should not take lightly.

A key to empowering others is the high belief in people. The American people empower the military with its security because of their belief in our abilities to defeat the adversary. Our comrades who have gone before us to preserve our way of life and defend our freedom believe in and empower us.

In his Gettysburg address, President Lincoln said: "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." 

Let us not destroy this belief through careless or senseless actions. You are empowered to be a great Wingman!