Attitude: making the ride smooth

  • Published
  • By Maj. Andrew Levien
  • 60th Maintenance Squadron commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  As I wrap up my two years in command of the 60th Maintenance Squadron, the best Squadron on Travis, I quickly realize what a great journey it was.

This journey was marked with many great accomplishments, especially our "outstanding" ratings on the 2011 Air Mobility Command Logistics Compliance Assessment Program and the AMC Munitions Compliance Inspection.

However, these two years were great because of the attitude of the maintainers in our squadron. The biggest lesson I have taken away from this experience is that when an organization that is made up half-full, not half-empty personalities, it can accomplish anything to which its members set their minds.

What type of person are you? Is your glass always half-full or half-empty? The Air Force has spent a lot of time and money trying to train us to be resilient Airman.

Resiliency is essential for a person to succeed in life. We will have our ups and downs, our successes and failures, our good times and bad. Throughout all those times, if we keep the right attitude, we will thrive and become so much better because of it. If supervisors and friends act as resiliency sensors, they will notice when our teammates are looking at life a half-empty. We can intervene and help turn them around. We can get their attitude pointed up and keep them as valuable members of our team.

Attitude is engrained in the Airman of the maintenance group from the day they arrive. Our four pillars that keep maintenance propped up high are safety, training, tech data and attitude. While all are important, none will stay standing without attitude. Our Airman live by these four pillars and are an example for the rest of society to follow.

Charles Swindoll said, "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the past, the only thing that we can do is to play on the one string we have and that is our attitude. I'm convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it."

So, Travis, as changes in leadership happen this summer, as inspections come next January and as new opportunities present themselves, I challenge you to react with the right attitude and look at the glass as half-full."

I'll close by thanking the men and women of Travis AFB, my fellow squadron commander's and the Airman of the 60th Maintenance Squadron for making my command an "outstanding" experience. Travis is a strong team that will only get better if we keep our glasses half-full.