Go forth, conquer means give your absolute best Published Jan. 28, 2010 By Col. Greg Tims 90th Missile Wing commander F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- We lost one of our own this week, Senior Airman Donald Anthe, 90th Medical Support Squadron. Our thoughts, prayers and heartfelt sympathies go out to Airman Anthe's family and friends. I was asked the other day, "Just why do you end your weekly commentaries with 'Go Forth and Conquer'?" Good question; let me explain. We are in a very competitive environment. Think about this, if you are in business and fail, you lose money. If you are in sports and fail, you may be kicked off the team. While these may be life altering experiences, they are not on the same playing field that we are on. Our playing field is concerned with national and world stability. It concerns the American way of life, and meeting the goals and objectives set forth by our civilian leadership. Everyone should know our mission statement by now: "Provide preeminent combat capability across the spectrum of conflict." The spectrum of conflict we work in is very broad. We are engaged in two conflicts: the one we are fighting and the one we are deterring. We can't afford to lose either of these endeavors. The old sports adage is very sobering in this case when you sit back and reflect on it: "Second place is the first loser." Simply put, we can't afford to come in second. So when I say, "Go forth and conquer," I mean give whatever tasks lie in front of you your absolute best. If you are a Scout leader -- be the best at it. If you coach youth athletics -- be the best at it. If you process travel claims -- be the best at it. If you are going out to fix a missile -- be the best at it. The list goes on and on. What we are doing is building a culture of excellence and winning. And when you really think about it, our nation is counting on us. They are counting on us to win, not come in second. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to go watch a couple of Air Force Academy hockey games. Like most fans, I have my favorite players to watch. Cadets Matt Becker, #51, and Brad Sellers, #3, both juniors, are two players I enjoy watching. Matt plays wing, and Brad is a defenseman. Not only do both have the skill, but I enjoy watching their passion and toughness on the ice. Neither player is exceptionally big, but no doubt they fear no opposing player -- no matter how large or mean. Brad declared this past week and his first career choice is Space and Missiles. I heard Matt has this career field down for his second choice. I'm hoping they both get assigned here. In case you didn't know it, we have two former AFA Hockey players in our wing, Matt's brother, 2nd Lt. Bryan Becker, 320th Missile Squadron, and 2nd Lt. Ian Harper, 321st Missile Squadron. Both graduated in 2008. To be able to make it to the collegiate level in any sport is admirable. No doubt coaches at this level provide immediate feedback on your performance as well as learning the fortitude to pick yourself up after getting knocked down. These are both very good life lessons! Speaking of sports, during intramurals last Wednesday, Wilbert Smith, Jr., 90th Logistics Readiness Squadron, bowled a perfect game -- 300! I heard he went on to bowl over 200 in his next two games. That is certainly no easy feat -- well done Wilbert! Many of you will be heading down to enjoy SnoFest today. I'd like to send a personal thank you to Lorri Welsh, 90th Force Support Squadron, for her hard work setting this up for F.E. Warren. Have fun, be safe and enjoy! We said farewell to Chief Master Sgt. Tammy Elliott, 20th Air Force, her husband Mike, and their two sons Joey and Sam on Jan. 22. While not going far, they will certainly be missed here in the 90th Missile Wing. She will now not only be able to help Warren, but also Malmstrom and Minot as she moves up to become 20th AF command chief. I personally thanked Chief Elliott for all her work for this wing and her ability to turn concepts into reality. As I said at her going away, she was definitely my navigator on TDYs as we would wind through the maze of the DC streets and ensure we caught our planes, even if it meant having to run from one gate to another. But in actuality she was also my navigator in the daily operations of this wing. She would always bring sage and well thought out advice. We would talk daily and her counsel was always welcomed. We all have wingman and she was mine. Wingmen such as Chief Elliott are very hard to find and even harder to replace. Thank you, Chief, for everything you did for me, our Airmen and this wing -- you simply are the best! Go Forth and Conquer!