Take a break

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Michael Phillips
  • 60th Communications Squadron commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Not once have I ever heard "I willingly threw away a few hundred dollars last year," yet unfortunately, I cannot count the number of times I've seen Airmen of all ranks forfeit hard-earned leave throughout my career.

We face one of the highest operations tempos our Air Force has ever seen. We're tens of thousands of Airmen smaller than the Air Force I joined 21 years ago. There's no doubt we're busy. But that's not an excuse to burn ourselves out.

Military members earn 30 days of leave a year. Many of my family members have literally jumped out of their shoes when they hear that number...until they learn that we often end up taking leave on weekends or during holidays. As we approach the end of the fiscal year, it's easy to let the tyranny of the urgent overtake the need to plan escapes.

The Department of Defense has almost numbed us to the importance of using our allotted time off in recent years, allowing us to carry over as many as 75 days. That deal changes next year as we revert back to a 60 day maximum. Are you ready?

Leaders need to stress the importance of taking a break and using our hard-earned time off. Whether you're married, have kids or even a single Airman living in the dorms, leave enables each of us to step away from the never-ending email inbox and turn our attention away from work. Sure, the military is our calling, but it cannot be our life. Taking a few days of leave to spend hiking, camping, traveling or just spending quality time with family not only builds more resilient Airmen, but provides a good reminder of why you joined the military in the first place.

Anyone who knows me will attest I married a planner. My wife understands how important leave is to not just me, but my family as a whole, and tries hard to fill every waking moment of leave with an activity that brings our family together. From a family camping trip to Yosemite to a road trip to Reno, Nev., I recently had the pleasure of a few days off with my family.

While I may need a vacation to recover from my vacation, the fact stands that I spent a few days without the BlackBerry, giving undivided attention to my family. Doing so, my staff not only knew I trusted them to perform the mission, but they also saw the importance of taking leave themselves. Further, it drove home to my family that they're in this with me. In a few years, I'll hang up my blues, but my family will still be there by my side. I hope they'll have as many memories of our vacations as our time in uniform.

One my best mentors used to say, "If it's important to the boss, it fascinates me." Too often this phrase is used in context with the mission and the need to get the job done. But what if supervisors placed as much importance on taking a break, going on leave and building their family? Are you one of those supervisors who loses leave every year? If so, what message are you sending?