Commentary Search

  • Creating high performance through job satisfaction

    Do you like your job? Do your Airmen like their jobs? If you answered no, why? How you answer those questions can say a lot about your organization. Believe it or not, you can create a better workplace for your Airmen.At the bare basics, think about what people need and want from a job. Abraham

  • Lead people effectively not efficiently

    A good test of leadership is how your team reacts to a fire drill. In the moment of a crisis or exercise, will your team be professional or juvenile? How the team handles a drill or an exercise directly reflects on how well you prepared them.Throughout my career when conducting fire drills, I was

  • Leadership in an Airman's eyes

    I am coming up on two and a half years in the military. I have achieved many things in this short amount of time but have yet to supervise my own troops, something I am really looking forward to. When asked to write a commentary about leadership, I geared my thinking towards leadership qualities I

  • To teach or apply ROEs

    When I was a plebe at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the stories of “Lone Survivor” and “American Sniper” were just making headlines as tales of heroism and tragedy, providing raw accounts of the true war in the Middle East. While I admired these men and women for their courage and sacrifice,

  • The time we saved a life

    As Airmen, we are constantly preparing to be ready for the worst days of our lives. We live by a fit to fight ethos and maintain readiness for the most extreme of emergency situations. Though, sometimes we realize we aren’t just prepared to fight for our lives and remember that we are trained to

  • First Sgt. speed mentoring – it’s worth it

    In the Air Force, professional development is a crucial part of becoming a good leader and getting promoted. That said, it doesn’t usually sound like an enjoyable time. When my leadership said, “This would be a great opportunity for you, you should go!” (Which really meant ‘hey you’re going to this

  • Redefining our Success

    What does the word success mean to you? For me, the word traps us without even defining itself. The word can foster anxiety, force people to compromise their innate talents and leave us comparing ourselves to unrealistic expectations. We all hope to be successful, but we have to be careful what we

  • Three departing chaplains leave large shoes to fill

    The 90th Missile Wing is losing three chaplains, and although they will be replaced, they will be sorely missed by all. Capts. Samuel McClellan, Thomas Fussell and James Calledo will be departing to new duty assignments this summer. The Airmen served the wing together for 3 years and made a

  • Silent Sentinels: Gate guards, our first line of defense

    I wake up every morning, get ready and drive to the base for work. This is my every day routine and once I arrive to the base, I patiently wait in line to hand my ID to the gate guard. I then drive through without a second thought about the daily challenges these men and women have to overcome. I

  • The journey to what I thought was the finish line

    Being introduced to the military when I was 12 years old was one of the best things that could have happened to me and has had a lasting impact on my answer to this question, “What do I want to do in my life?” The lifestyle, comradery and security of being in the military was exactly what I wanted