Commentary Search

  • Leadership Lessons: Let’s all be real Airmen

    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling is much worse. The person who has nothing for which they are willing to fight, nothing which is more important than their own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance

  • Leadership Lessons: It's not just 'taking advantage'

    It was more than twenty years ago, and I had decided to go to a house party with friends. I made the decision to partake in a couple alcoholic drinks (I was underage). My low tolerance for alcohol and my drinking inexperience led to a drunken state in which I needed to "lie down for a bit." I had

  • Integrity in Check: One wild night

    When I first joined the Air Force, I remember hearing stories from my recruiter, fellow trainees and even the drill instructors about what happened at technical school. Things like wild parties and other shenanigans.All throughout basic training I told myself, I won't let that happen to me. I've got

  • Leadership Lessons: Building a philosophy against stress

    I have only been in the Air Force for four short years. However, in this time I have noticed how workplace stressors can have a drastic effect on Airmen depending on how they react to them. These stressors have an impact on the unit, the mission, and the member's personal life. I know I have not yet

  • August 26 is Women’s Equality Day

    The New York Times' first, female editor, Jill Abramson, was dismissed from her position after she confronted top brass executives about her unequal pay. Jill found out that her pay and benefits were less than her male predecessor, Bill Keller. Why was Jill paid less than her male predecessor Bill?

  • Leadership Lessons: The Tale of Four Fathers

    I want to tell you a tale of four fathers. The first father I met while serving in Afghanistan. During my off-time I would volunteer at a hospital run by Egypt to provide care for the people of Afghanistan. It is not like the hospitals many of you have been to or even close to being a Combat Support

  • Leadership Lessons: Do you know our Air Force Heritage?

    On June 28, 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were assassinated by a Yugoslav nationalist. One month later on July 28, the Austrian-Hungary Empire declared war on Serbia and by mid-August the great powers of Europe would be embroiled in war. Within a short time war

  • Leadership Lessons: Reach out, save a life

    A few years ago, I met Master Sgt. Monroe (not his real name). He was quiet, reserved and had a tendency. Whenever tasked with something, he would nod and give a short acknowledgement before leaving to go about his business. To be honest, this initially left me feeling uneasy and wondering if we had

  • A Lasting Legacy

    As military members, we often move every few years to new locations and often without a thought as to the history or past of the Airmen that came before us. The magnitude of an event that happened so many years before us is lost, yet still stays fresh in the minds of those who were affected.With

  • Leadership Lessons: Balance

    What is balance? What does it mean to have balance in life? There are multi-volume texts and graduate courses on this topic. The intent of this short commentary is not to compete with the level of research and application found in those. Instead, I would like to mention a recent experience I had