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Commentary Search

  • When exactly did you join the Air Force?

    I joined the Air Force at the end of my second enlistment. At the time, I was a staff sergeant looking back with disappointment on nearly a decade of service. I felt unfulfilled, unappreciated and was struggling to decide my next move toward self-actualization. I did not feel like a “real cop.”

  • Are you blooming where you are planted?

    I love to garden and be outside. This Spring, my husband and I decided it was time to start establishing our property and planted over 60 saplings.

  • Building trust

    We often hear that trust is an essential element of any successful organization, but what does that really mean?

  • The importance of quality feedback

    When was the last time you received feedback? How often do you receive feedback? Was it formal or informal? Was it meaningful?

  • Culture, character and communication

    When I first arrived at McConnell, I began receiving summaries of operations reports submitted across the Air Force. Week after week, I read about suicide after suicide in alarming numbers. Since then, I’ve been focusing on how to communicate with Airmen about our culture and character to build a

  • Leadership and expectation

    Expectation is a gift and a pillar of successful leadership; in fact, Yale University list Leadership Expectations as a key attribute and competency for their leaders. These expectations parallel and expand the expectations Air Force leaders should impart to subordinates.

  • Leadership: it's a team sport

    Leadership in the Air Force isn't simply a role you take on based on a position you've attained or your expertise you apply to a technical problem. It's an activity of monitoring and adapting to the challenges presented to your unit to ensure mission accomplishment and effectiveness. It’s allowing

  • Competence

    I have had the pleasure of serving in the Air Force for 21 years. When asked to write an article related to leadership I thought long and hard about what to say. I wanted to share my thoughts on one important aspect of leadership with you, competence. John Maxwell wrote “Competence goes beyond

  • I am a military brat

    On our base and in communities all across Kansas, April is month of the military child. As likely one of, if not the most senior military child on McConnell I am a proud to call myself a life-long Air Force brat. Some people do not like that term, but I do.