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  • Leadership Lessons: Paddle faster than the current

    As a 16-year old Boy Scout in New Jersey, I was determined to earn my Canoeing Merit Badge. Many skills were taught such as navigation, keeping the canoe straight while paddling, what to do with a swamped (flooded) canoe, how to recover a capsized canoe, and water rescue, but one important lesson

  • Dignity & Respect; Are You on the Team?

    "Dignity & Respect" is a key topic on the minds of the Air Force's most senior leadership. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force's position: "Treating EVERY Airman with dignity and respect must be at the heart of who we are and how we operate. It isn't a 'tag' line; it's the core of everything we

  • Leadership Lessons: Why Do You Serve?

    As Airmen, we all serve. From the airman basic to the chief of staff, we all serve. Our government civilians serve. Our spouses and children serve. We are part of the Air Force family, which exists solely to protect our great nation and all of its citizens.We protect our citizens' freedom of speech;

  • Leadership Lessons: Grow where you're planted, then branch out

    "Grow where you're planted." These words can create sudden tension and dampen the mood of any mentorship opportunity. To many, it's an admonishment to toe the line and do the job they've been told to do, an indication that their professional desires are not important, and proof that their leadership

  • Leadership Lessons - Time for Change?

    I was asked to provide a leadership prospective to publish on the base web site. I almost immediately drew a blank as to what I could possibly write about. I thought about it unsuccessfully for a week or so while I read some previous articles for some inspiration. Then I asked myself, "Why am I

  • Leadership Lessons: Be the Air Force

    We were all recently sent an e-mail from the Secretary of the Air Force. The Secretary, the Air Force Chief of Staff, and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force took the time to pen that message because reaching out to their Airmen matters to them. They care about explaining what it means to be an

  • 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