Accountability crucial for military members Published Sept. 29, 2006 By Col. Steve Arquiette 60th Air Mobility Wing commander TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Impressively high levels of personal and professional discipline displayed daily by our Airmen bolster the current high levels of support we receive from the American public, on the local as well as national level. Each day Travis Airmen as young as 18 years old embrace the great responsibilities they've been entrusted with, whether it's maintaining or flying on aircraft, providing significant healthcare to patients, or operating multi-million dollar equipment, the pride and passion instilled in our Airmen is very evident. We are blessed to have so many impressive young Airmen on this base. I meet them everywhere, including on the flightline, in-flight kitchen, in the maintenance shops, David Grant USAF Medical Center, working civil engineering projects, in the dorms and more! They've worked hard to learn their core job skills and meet responsibility head on. I know of no profession that empowers young men and women so significantly. The foundation of personal and professional discipline is accountability. As military members, we are expected to meet specific standards and we must hold ourselves and others accountable if these standards are not maintained. While I'm proud to say that the great majority of Team Travis members' personal and professional discipline levels are great, your leadership is busy ensuring those who are falling short are being helped and encouraged to get back up to speed. You're seeing a variety of accountability-based activity geared towards raising the bar on meeting or exceeding our standards. The increased focus on physical fitness and ensuring everyone is well on their way to achieving a passing PT test score is the basis for our Fitness Boot Camp. The recent return of on-base yard inspections stems from the fact that many folks needed some prodding to maintain the expected standards. Personal appearance, proper military courtesies and wear of the uniform, are all important aspect of our daily lives, yet we are finding folks whose attention to detail needs assistance. Extra vigilance is on-going to catch folks speeding, illegally dumping items throughout the base and other activities that detract from the quality of life that we expect and deserve. While the word accountability can sometimes seem threatening, it is necessary in our line of work. Take a good look at yourself on the personal and professional level and hold yourself accountable to uphold the standards. Take a good look at others and ensure they are doing their share of upholding our Air Force standards as well. Regardless of rank or position, we all play a role in ensuring folks are maintaining standards. We must stay on our toes at all times. Please keep up the good work and thanks in advance for your help in making Travis a better place to live and work. BE PROUD! BE SAFE!