Commentary Search

  • Warriors prove mettle at exercise

    For eight days and nights, mobility warriors from the 319th Air refueling Wing joined our mission partners from the 62nd and 446th Air Wing, McChord Air force Base, for Exercise Operation Thunderbolt at the Combat Readiness Training Center in Alpena, Michigan. In this final ability to survive and

  • Saying farewell, leaving the best behind

    As my time winds down here at Grand Forks and I get ready to head over to Manas Air Base in Kyrgystan, I get the feeling I’m leaving the best behind. Of course, there is my family, Anna, Skyler and Alex, whom I consider the best part of me. This is a tough way of life no matter who you are, and as

  • Honoring ‘angels of mercy’

    National Nurses’ Week, celebrated each year beginning May 6th and ending on Florence Nightingale’s birthday, May 12th, has as this year’s motto “nurses: strength, commitment and compassion.” This is a fitting motto and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than with the nurses serving in the armed

  • Survive and operate … a serious matter

    Some folks shrug off ability to survive and operate training, calling it a “hassle” and a “waste of time.” Others might think it’s something to learn only for anupcoming Operational Readiness Inspection and then quickly forget. The reality is that whether in exercises or in the real world, the ATSO

  • Service, heritage, duty -- why I serve

    I have the great fortune to be the daughter of a veteran whose influence still resonates in my life today. My dad, Russ Daniels, joined the Navy at the age of 20 in 1950 and left his home town in Le Grande, Ore., as the Korean War kicked off. Several of his buddies were joining the effort, and he

  • We hear you loud and clear

    In early February, I asked wing members to participate in a wing climate assessment (WCA) by filling out a 50-question survey concerning many important issues that affect our wing, our Airmen and their families. Over a one-week period, 530 Warriors of the North (approximately 20 percent of the wing)

  • The greatest generation

    When Tom Brokaw's book “The Greatest Generation,” was published in 1998, the title quickly became the label for the generation of American GIs who changed the world. Today’s generation of Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen is similar in so many ways that it's being called the “Next Greatest Generation.”

  • Faces of military women: the spouse

    Over twenty years ago I was issued my first government ID card as a young, newly-married military spouse. Having no military background in my family, I entered my husband’s world of uniforms and acronyms without a clue as to what lie in store, but ready to meet new people and live wherever the Air

  • Faces of military women: the leader

    Some people wonder how a military leader - and a mom - can be successful at both. From personal experience, I can tell you it is a fine balance between the time it takes to be a good Airman and leader and the time it takes to ensure your children have the attention, discipline, education and love

  • Leave no Airman, family member behind; we care

    A traditional value of the United States military is to “leave no one behind.” The historic meaning of this phrase is that in the heat of the battle we will never abandon a fellow Airman. Air Force heritage throughout history is filled with heroic actions by individuals and teams that ignored great