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  • Leadership Lessons: Protecting the Castle

    A young lady I went to high school with once wrote, "If we are living in our past's future and our future's past...does the present really exist?" Now that, my friends, is some real deep thinking. I prefer to keep my thinking a little closer to the surface. So my question to you is, "Why are you

  • Only you can solve the DUI problem

    Over the last 15 months, Team Grand Forks has seen a rise in Airmen driving under the influence of alcohol. We ended 2013 with 14 DUIs and so far in 2014 we have already had five. If we continue down the same path, Grand Forks AFB could see upward of 20 DUIs by the end of the year.Many of you may

  • Leadership Lessons: Reflections

    Monday, August 19, 2013. For most folks, including myself, this particular Monday looked much like most other Mondays that had preceded it. Admittedly, it was a normal day in my life--special for the opportunities a new day brings but no more or less noteworthy than any other day save for one small,

  • Leadership Lessons: Witnessing history

    People often ask me, as an Air Force historian, how I acquired an interest in history. It goes back a long way. By the time I joined the military in 1970, I had seen three presidents (Eisenhower, Johnson, and Nixon), visited the Kennedy White House, and shaken hands with Muhammad Ali. These

  • Studying DUIs in the new year

    As a member of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT) team, and someone who has spent close to 10 years of my life on military bases, I feel compelled to speak up about the run of DUIs here last year.Last calendar year, we had 14 DUIs at Grand Forks AFB. That's not a typo - 14

  • Leadership Lessons: Why do Ethnic/Special Observances Matter?

    Who cares about ethnic or other special observances? The Air Force cares and you should too.As individuals we are products of our geographic location, culture, life experiences, philosophical/spiritual perspectives, as well as socioeconomic, educational, and work backgrounds.We all have something

  • Leadership Lessons: What You Should Know About Force Shaping

    The hottest topic for Airmen right now is Force Shaping and the many programs the Air Force is executing to meet end-strength targets.As Chief Master Sgt. David Duncan, the 319th Air Base Wing command chief, said during a recent meeting, "When I came in [the Air Force] in 1986, we had over 600,000

  • Leadership Lessons: Time is money, so spend it wisely

    As a young captain, I received some very sage advice that I did not want to hear. I was returning home from a three-month deployment, and was scheduled to deploy again in less than six weeks. As I disembarked the KC-135, and before I had had the opportunity to reunite with my family, my squadron

  • Leadership Lessons: Preventing a toxic leader

    What is a toxic leader? The Army defines a toxic leader as one who lacks concern for others and the climate of the organization, who operates with an inflated sense of self-worth and from acute self-interest, and who uses dysfunctional behaviors to deceive, intimidate, coerce, or unfairly punish

  • Leadership Lessons: Are you committed to our Air Force heritage?

    Traditions - the military is full of them. I am a big fan and a believer in the time-honored traditions our Air Force continues to provide ... the render of the salute, the polish of the uniform and the institution of the Air Force Club System.Yes, base clubs themselves honor many of the Air Force