Commentary Search

  • The tyranny of metrics

    Whether we like them or not, metrics are a fact of life, and they track much of what we do in the Air Force. Many deal with our primary mission such as weapon system alert rates, crew readiness rates and present for duty rates. However, many more have to do with ancillary responsibilities, and those

  • AFA: Truly committed

    It's with a great deal of pride and humility that I highlight your Air Force Association and its commitment and dedication to our uniformed services. Air Force members put themselves in harm's way virtually every day and ask for nothing in return. Our freedoms and piece of mind are fruits of their

  • Martin Luther King, Jr.

    He was a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement whose spirit lives on today through what he accomplished in the past. Many of those who lived during his time can relate, understand, and appreciate his efforts, but does the young generation really know the works of the late Reverend Dr. Martin

  • Holidays: A great time to invest in social capital

    I love the holiday season. It is a time to truly live, love and laugh out loud. It is a time to be thankful for who we are, what we are and what we have become. It is also an excellent time to invest in social capital. What is that? Social capital is having a network of personal friends and

  • One leader's view: Making the tough decisions

    Do you have the courage to make the tough, unpopular, legal, moral and ethical decisions that come about in our business? I would suggest that those of you in a leadership position must have the courage to support your personnel when they make a tough decision in your absence, as long as their

  • Focus on the day, not daily pressures

    No doubt we have all been feeling the increased pressure from work and family as we have to do more with less in today's Air Force. This extends to less time for family and our personal finances. Many families have been struggling to make ends meet for some time, and it now seems that they have

  • Don't fear the feedback

    We've all heard the saying, you learn more from a bad boss then you ever do from a good one. I've said this myself because I used to believe it. That is until I worked for Col. John Carter, the vice commander at Osan Air Base, Korea. He was a great boss. A little while after I started working as his

  • Good follower, good leader

    Everyone in our Air Force is both a follower and a leader. While the chief of staff of the Air Force is our senior Air Force member, he follows the direction of our nation's civilian leadership. Whereas a junior Airman may not supervise anyone, their actions, ability to follow orders and attitude

  • Mentoring really does makes a difference

    Many of you have seen the movie "Troy." It follows the typical date-flick format: nation-state has girl, nation-state loses girl, nation-state wants girl back. Many of you may not know, however, that this epic forms the basis for our present-day concept of mentoring. Enter Ulysses -- fierce

  • Training proficiency is important part of MSET

    The Missile Standardization, Evaluation and Training Assessment is Dec. 5 to 10. Training proficiency counts for a significant chunk of the total score (35 percent to be exact). Like evaluation proficiency, training proficiency includes scores from operations (30 percent), maintenance and