'The team depends on you'

  • Published
  • By Col. Melvin Giddings
  • 349th Maintenance Group
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  With the recent Operational Readiness Exercise just barely in our rearview mirror, we now have an opportunity to reflect on our own team - Team Travis.

One thing becomes clear -- how important each job is to the mission. Each team member in each shop is an instrumental part of the fight. The more we practice, the better we are.

Teams have different purposes and aims. All sports teams want to put points on the board and win for their fans.

Team Travis wants to put planes in the air. These teams are very different, but one thing is constant -- they are only as strong as their weakest member.

If the team keeps letting opponents overrun the home team, they'll never score. If our aircraft don't get off the ground, then our troops and essential equipment don't get to the fight.

Although we may dread the long hours and lost weekends, exercises like this past ORE are good examples of our skills, allowing us to interact with different agencies and improve relationships with those whom we seldom work closely.

It's a great opportunity for teambuilding and understanding the valuable skills we bring to the table. What each of us needs to focus on is how our actions affect the outcome of our motto; Aim High ... Fly-Fight-Win. For us, it's more than a motto; it's a can-do attitude of knowing what each specialty has to bring to the fight.

So, no matter how minor you feel your role is, when you come out to work on a weekend, know that your team depends on you. The better you do your job, the stronger the team is. Be the most valuable player of fabrication or readiness. Whatever your field, make sure you are trained and ready when the coach calls you in. Our fans, Americans, are counting on yo