We’re all family in the Air Force

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Tammy S.S. Elliott
  • 90th Missile Wing command chief
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  Did you know we are in the midst of the year of the Air Force family? The secretary of the Air Force and Air Force chief of staff kicked off the year for celebration and recognition of the contributions of our families to the accomplishment of the mission. Keep in mind, they are referring to a bigger family than those that live with you. Let's look at the two closest: your immediate family and your Air Force family.

The only way I can discuss this is by reflecting on my own life, but I invite you to compare it to yours as we go. While I have worked very hard through my years in the Air Force, I absolutely could not have done it without the support of both my immediate family and my extended Air Force family. My husband, Mike, always tells folks when he said, "I do," he meant, "I will."

This may sound like lyrics to a song, but over the last 21 years, he has honored that statement time and time again. He was supportive when I became a first sergeant while both kids were still in diapers, then again as I deployed repeatedly. I know for a fact I was able to execute my duties elsewhere because my husband had the wheel at home. For years, I went into my pre-testing black hole of studying for the Weighted Airman Promotion System, during every waking hour, he never complained. Not once. Through many duty station changes, my kids were typically packed before I was because they knew moving was part of the deal.

For every negative thing anyone says about military families, I can spout ten positive things -- guaranteed. This is a team effort, a package deal, and it's as important that the military members themselves understand this as it is for the family members themselves to buy in.

I have an even bigger family that has had an equal impact. That family is filled with folks with no shared DNA, but we share more characteristics than any natural relative. This is my Air Force family. My immediate Air Force family consists of years of supervisors, co-workers, squadron members and their families.

These are the folks who invited me into their homes or made the work place a second home and themselves a second family. Like a natural family, times weren't always easy, but they were better because of the relationships. My extended Air Force family is every person in an Air Force uniform.

If that seems odd to you, compare walking into a city where you don't know a soul, to arriving at a new base where you've met no one. Wouldn't you agree that the second you see someone with the same uniform, you are already in the presence of your own?
There's an instant common bond, common values - even a common language you would never find in a crowd of civilians without the benefit of a lot of ice-breaking, conversation and careful association.

We are a family, for better or worse, and we cannot deny that bond any more than we can deny we are the children of our parents. The sooner that realization sinks in, the more effective we will be out in the trenches because it promotes bonds, loyalty and commitment.

As we honor this, our year of the Air Force family, appreciate what both of your families do for you. Reflect on another set of lyrics, "united we stand, divided we fall." More than a song, those words represent the nature of our lives, and they are a prediction of our future, depending on which way we go. I'd advise you to unite, celebrate and enjoy the accomplishment it brings.