Commentary Search

  • It is a great day; what are you going to do with it?

    MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan.— The names in this story have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent, the locations and specific mission details have been omitted and some of the quotes have been cleaned up to better fit the potential audience, but this is a story I need to tell.With 36 hours to

  • Volunteering: Solidifying your “purrr-pose”

    MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan.— The day my parents brought me home from the hospital, I was greeted by my mom’s dalmatian, Dallas. I had pets my whole life until I joined the Air Force in 2015.Leaving home at 18 and learning to live on your own is hard. The way I see it, leaving home at 18 and

  • Who do you owe, why are you here

    My story about joining the U.S. Air Force is a selfish one. When I finished completing my undergraduate and master’s degrees, I simply needed a job. I had mounting student loans from graduate school and bills that needed to be paid. Many of my family members had served in the armed forces and my

  • Space-A: Do you know how it works?

    The McConnell Air Force Base passenger terminal accommodates active duty and retired military members as well as their dependents through space available travel. Space-A can seem confusing, but it’s actually quite simple. It all starts with the sign-up process. Potential passengers will sign-up via

  • Attitude

    You can either love what you do or hate it, but it all depends on your attitude.Colin Powell once said, “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”I read this during a challenging assignment when I didn’t have the right attitude. I was a section superintendent responsible for the actions, products

  • Asking why

    A few years ago, I had the unique privilege to spend time listening to and talking with Simon Sinek, author of The New York Times best seller, "Start with Why."  If you have not heard him speak, read his book, or perhaps watched any of his many TED Talk on-line presentations, I highly encourage you

  • Trust is an operational accelerant

    In his book, “The Speed of Trust,” Stephen M. R. Covey talks about trust as one part credibility and one part capability. To me, credibility is doing what you say you will do, and capability is having the necessary skills to do what you say you will do.I view trust as an operational accelerant that,

  • Know your people

    After entering the Air Force in April 1993, I was very concerned that I would get lost in the shuffle.After basic military training, I attended technical school at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, before arriving to my first duty station at Castle Air Force Base, California. When I arrived, I was

  • Followership makes for good leadership

    Ducemus…we lead! Our recent successes in our Nuclear Operations Readiness Inspection and Unit Compliance Inspection, with deployments and exercises are a testament to individual leadership and the leadership training Airmen received at every stage in their career. For a great team like ours to pull

  • Fearless leaders, step out of the shadows

    “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure