New year time for right turn to success

  • Published
  • By Col. Scott Zippwald
  • 570th Contingency Response Wing commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  During an assignment to Scott Air Force Base, Ill., in the mid-90s, a friend and I were on our way to dinner and walking to a restaurant in downtown St. Louis.

About half way to our intended destination, we came upon a stop light and paused to wait for the light to turn green so we could continue on our way. As we stopped, we could hear a live band playing down the street.

"Maybe we should go check that place out first," my friend asks.
After thinking it over for 5 seconds, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "why not, let's go."
Deviating from our plan, we made the right turn and headed toward the music. After arriving and listening to the band for a bit, we both struck up a conversation with two ladies who had also heard the music and decided to pop in. To make a long story short, almost exactly a year later, my friend and I married those ladies and have lived happily ever after since. I have always said it was the best right turn I have ever made.

While my right turn that night in St. Louis was circumstantial and spontaneous, making that course deviation certainly paid off for me. During our lives and service to the Air Force, we have all had opportunities to make more deliberate and planned right turns for ourselves or to help others deviate from their current course onto a path for success. With the welcoming of the new year comes time to reflect on our past accomplishments and challenges, as well an opportunity to set future goals for ourselves, for others and for the organizations we are a part of.

If you're like me, you may have already set in to motion some personal right turns toward 2014 goals you have set for yourself or for your family. As leaders and wingmen, we also understand it is our responsibility to look out and care for our Air Force family, our system and enterprise. If you have the opportunity to mentor an individual, improve a process, or perhaps make your squadron more efficient, step up to the plate, these are certainly worthy New Year's right turns.

As 2014 begins, take some time to pause at the stop light, take in your surroundings and embrace an opportunity to encourage yourself, family members, wingmen or your organization to make that right turn. Can you hear the music?