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  • Service before self vs. service before family

    On the night of Dec. 24, 2004, I returned to Yokota Air Base, Japan, from a four-month deployment.Two days later, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The following day, my phone rang and on the other line was my squadron superintendent notifying me

  • Dense planetary core stifles epic changes

    My planetary analogy provides us all an opportunity to continuously evaluate our inherent human condition to resist change. As an experienced Air Force officer and commander, I find myself naturally “gravitating” back towards how I accomplished tasks as a young officer. Granted, some of those

  • Practice patience and understanding

    You may have noticed recently we temporarily closed the North Gate, but perhaps you were unaware of why. Modernizing our gates provides additional mitigation for our defenders to protect the base populace from the ever-present threat of gate runners.

  • Work-life balance: Do I have the time?

    I wish there were more hours in a day. I can understand why someone may say this. Perhaps it’s out of frustration or a simple cry for help. However, isn’t this an easy answer? Are you really that busy?

  • Technology helps overcome deployment challenges

    Military life is not easy. The men and women who serve in our armed forces protect our freedoms and way of life. They make tremendous sacrifices along with their families in service to our country. Service members often have to endure times of separation from their loved ones, from a few days to a

  • Wingmen: critical to mission success and a resilient Air Force

    There are two definitions for the term “wingman” offered by Dictionary.com. The first is “a pilot whose aircraft is positioned behind and outside the leading aircraft in a formation.” The second is “a (person) who helps or supports another (person); a friend”.

  • Did you learn anything?

    Some of my best memories growing up came from spending time on my grandparent’s farm in rural Indiana.In my eyes, my grandfather was the smartest guy on the planet. He could always explain how things worked and had the capability to fix or build anything. As a boy, whatever my grandfather was

  • Innovation: our calling and imperative

    “Our industry does not respect tradition—it only respects innovation.” Satya Nadella spoke after assuming the role as chief executive at Microsoft.Arguably, similar sentiments could be said of our U.S. Air Force. Seven decades ago, visionary innovators established our service as a separate, but