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  • Touch of a mouse versus the personal touch

    In our day and age we have seen many great advances in technology. We are able to replace people with computers for some of the most menial tasks and replace hours of brain storming with supercomputers. We can talk to someone half way around the world on a telephone that isn't even plugged into a

  • Veteran's Day is every day

    Recently I had the honor of attending a retirement ceremony on Veteran's Day. Since Veteran's Day is an official government holiday, and a day off from work for most, I noticed all the empty parking lots on base as I drove to the ceremony. It made me reflect on just the significance of the person I

  • Turkey day, how about venison, lobster?

    We Americans love traditions. We cherish heritage and often mix it with history, when the two are very different things. Heritage is usually full of myth and legend rather than historical fact. Why bring that up? On the fourth Thursday of November, Americans take part in one of their most beloved

  • Know the Four D’s

    I attended a conference last year where the top military attorneys of all the services spoke about leadership. In his speech, the Marine Corps top lawyer set out four axioms for leadership which I found to be particularly concise and helpful. Those leadership axioms are what he named The Four D's -

  • What I’ve learned

    After nearly 30 years in the Air Force and 47 years of walking this Earth, I have learned many lessons along the way. I thought this would be a perfect time to share them. Here are my top 10 lessons that I've learned. 1. Everything in moderation. Live a balanced life. Your day should be split in to

  • Where will you find strength?

    Each of us will face a variety of challenges throughout our life and Air Force career; how we meet these challenges will define the character within. Many of these challenges will seem insurmountable or impossible. These challenges will take many forms, perhaps another long deployment over the

  • I recommend the 'MIAIS' principle

    I want to share the most pointed mentorship lesson I've learned ... the "MIAIS" principle. More than a decade ago, my boss taught me the "MIAIS" principle. MIAIS stands for most important airman in the squadron. Each Airman is important to the squadron. After all, without our people, the mission

  • Full spectrum discipline

    Upon hearing the term military discipline, some of us might think of staying collected while under fire of maintaining order in the mist of chaos. But, I would guess the majority of us associate discipline with staying out of trouble. While this is true, I prefer to think of military discipline as a

  • McConnell member offers leadership lesson

    My first supervisor had a favorite quote, "The most important thing to being a great leader is keeping the followers who hate you as far away as possible from the ones who have not made up their minds yet." The problem was, he said it with a straight face, and, at the time I was one of the ones who

  • Silent heroes also pay

    We have all heard the saying "freedom isn't free," but who pays the price? The obvious response is our armed forces' heroes. We see them leaving for foreign lands to preserve freedom all over the world. We see them returning to their families; some are physically healthy, some are wounded and some