Setting acceptable standards Published April 24, 2007 By Col. Liston Mobley 90th Maintenance Group commander F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. -- Have you ever thought about who sets the Air Force standards we as Airmen uphold and enforce every day? Most answers would be that it has to be someone with more rank or responsibility than us, possibly someone at the Air Staff or Air Force Space Command headquarters. Granted, it's the job of every one of us to uphold and enforce Air Force standards, but clearly we aren't in the position of actually setting standards -- are we? A few years ago, I had the honor and privilege of commanding the 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron here. During a squadron commander' s workshop, a former wing commander, Col. (now major general) Roger Burg, shared his thoughts on setting and enforcing standards. He used the analogy that every time you walk by a piece of trash thrown on the ground, you have just set a new standard for all those around you to see. He pointed out that by simply ignoring and walking by or coyly pretending to look the other way as you pass, you just told the world that it's acceptable to throw trash on the ground and leave it there. In effect, you have just set a new standard, albeit an unacceptable, lower one. He went on to remind us that while we are in uniform we are in a large fish bowl with our lives and our actions open to scrutiny by everyone, regardless of your rank or position. When you think about it, he is absolutely right, and this life's lesson doesn't only apply to picking up trash. There is always someone looking up to you, someone looking to see how you handle any given situation. By our actions, or lack thereof, we set standards every day. It doesn't matter who you are or what job you do to support the mission of this wing. You may be a missile combat crew commander who after four years has pumped the pins on the launch control center blast doors a zillion times, a senior airman maintenance team member that has to lower a ton of technical data and safety equipment down the primary access hatch at a launch facility or an airman first class security forces member responding to a situation in Nebraska at 2 a.m.; it's that one time that you fail to follow technical data, or try to save a few minutes and use an unapproved route in the missile field or ignore policy that you have just compromised your standards and your integrity. In reality, the true test of integrity is doing the right thing when no one is around. It's kind of like what legendary football coach Vince Lombardi said about winning: "Winning is not a some time thing, it's an all-the-time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do the right thing once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing." That same concept applies to setting and enforcing standards. If you get in the habit of looking the other way on standards, then it becomes easier to apply that lackadaisical attitude and way of life to more things you do, on and off duty. So, as spring is slowly arriving at Warren and those gigantic snow drifts have finally melted and the "Big Dig" construction project is finally coming to an end, look around. There are probably plenty of opportunities for you to set a standard of excellence for everyone else to emulate with an action as simple as picking up trash on the ground. That way, you are showing the world that when confronted with the opportunity to do the right thing, regardless of the situation, you do it. Don't unintentionally set any lower standards.