Customs, courtesies always make a difference Published Jan. 21, 2010 By Chief Master Sgt. Michael Zirkle 90th Missile Wing command chief F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- Another week has flown by. Hopefully the lull in Inspector General action over the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday gave you a chance to take a breather. Slowing down and paying attention to your family is important and so is a little me time. We heard a lot of great comments from the IG over the past weeks, and Col. Greg Tims, 90th Missile Wing commander, even mentioned a few during the wing out-brief. One thing I kept hearing over and over during the inspection was how the wing displayed a lack of customs and courtesies. Frankly, I was shocked to hear this. I have seen nothing but exceptional military customs and courtesies from the wing. Basic customs and courtesies grew out of a need for order and to promote discipline and military effectiveness. They are a military necessity. To me, a simple "yes sir, no ma'am" is a lot more than politeness. It's a factor of being a professional. Customs such as a promotion, an award or retirement ceremony add value to the profession of arms. They all help bond us together as military professionals. I ask each of you to take a step back, look in the mirror and see if you've let your basic customs and courtesies slip a little. If you have, then pick it back up. Enough about that, on a good note, we recently came through three back-to-back, simultaneous battles, better known as the Nuclear Surety Inspection, Nuclear Operational Readiness Inspection and the Operational Inspection. Sometimes these inspections seemed to blend together, and other times, they were very distinct. The one thing they all had in common is that each battle was bloody. A few of the battles resembled an old Rocky movie where Rocky took a serious blow and was going down. In each movie, his resiliency allowed him to bounce back and win the bout. We did the same as a wing. We took the punches, bounced back and battled the enemy on their terms. Great job. I'm sure in the day of old, warriors celebrated their victories with a huge feast and drink. The wing did the same thing. I have to take this opportunity to thank some key people who made the after-inspection barbecue possible. The first is Chief Master Sgt. Charles Meador, 90th Security Forces Group. After he got done pulling his hair out, he worked out all the details to ensure the wing warriors and partners could come, relax and tell war stories over a burger and cold drink. Thanks, Chief. Next is Kathy Beatty, Warren Commissary store director. She worked with several of her vendors to donate large amounts of food and drink. Paul Grier, a representative from Overseas Foods worked to have all 2,500 hotdogs donated. Michael Richardson from Dixon Marketing took care of the condiments. Thanks all. Events like that don't just happen; hamburgers and hotdogs don't just cook themselves either. If you didn't know, the wing colonels did the grilling, which was led by Colonel "Burnt Burger" Batway and crew. Remember, we're mission ready every day, so keep doing what you're doing, and don't slack off just because the inspectors left the base.