Job knowledge, innovation power AF

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Robert Lankford
  • 21st Airlift Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Leaders, teammates, professional military aviators, these are my expectations for the men and women of the 21st Airlift Squadron. Building on each other, they form the bedrock of mission success. Although they are geared towards my squadron, they are applicable to all career fields in our Air Force.

You can lead from any position and leadership is based on knowledge. It doesn't matter if you are the formal team leader or aircraft commander, there are always opportunities that require leadership. However, success depends upon superior job knowledge. Being the expert in your mission area or duty section allows you to lead from beside, or even behind, in the uncertain situations that often characterize our missions.

From unexpected cargo upload complications, unplanned airspace or aircraft conditions, or urgent mission changes, each day brings new leadership challenges.  Each situation demands exquisite job knowledge, as there is no time available to find someone qualified to replace you.  Global mobility moves at the speed of trust, and that trust is earned when you seize the opportunity to lead the way through unforeseen challenges.

We must be good teammates. The aircrew members of the 21st Airlift Squadron cannot accomplish our mission alone; our success is underwritten by those that support us. Similarly, we underpin the successes of our teammates that count on us to deliver when called.  When our teammates succeed, we win.

Just as knowing your job forms the basis for leadership, it is also the key to innovation. It is difficult to think outside the box when you don't know what is in the box to begin with. When we answer our teammates' calls, responses that begin with, "yes, if," instead of, "no, because," foster a sense of teamwork that will help overcome the bureaucratic hurdles that often impede common sense approaches to mission accomplishment.

In our business, our teammates are within the squadron, within the Wing, and include those who are downrange counting on us. We need to understand the reach and impact our decisions have, and focus our efforts to ensuring our actions help our teammates succeed.

We are professional military aviators. We are the manifestation of a proud heritage and are military officers, non-commissioned officers and Airmen first. Whether you are studying for promotion testing or studying the volumes of regulations that govern air mobility, your dedication should reflect this heritage.

Although we are passionate and proud aircrew members, our duty will often fall outside of the aircraft. Detailed knowledge of your assigned duty position is required of all professional Airmen, not just those involved in the business of launching and recovering air mobility aircraft.

In the 21st Airlift Squadron, we pair intensive study with realistic training scenarios that challenge and prepare our crews to fly into harm's way as we execute our missions. I expect all of you to train as hard as we do.

I am proud to be a part of Team Travis and am impressed with the professionalism of the men and women that form the heart of AMC's largest Wing. Together we form the backbone of air mobility.