FE WARREN AFB, WYO. -- One of the Air Force's core values is "service before self," which service members adopt by joining the armed forces.
All of us freely chose to raise our right hand and swear to defend our country.
This is only the beginning of our service. Many of us will volunteer in either the local community or Air Force community.
There is one service we are often told about but really do not consider as a service due to its nature: Wingmanship.
When we look after our fellow Airmen, not only are we doing a service to the individual, but we serve the Air Force as a whole. We are looking out for our brothers and sisters in arms.
The wingman culture goes back to the Air Force's earliest days when aircrews looked out for one another against enemy fire. Nowadays, not all members of the Air Force are in a cockpit facing the firepower of the opposition.
There are many jobs ranging from the chef cooking in the missile field, to aircraft maintainers fixing planes, to the security forces member deploying to a remote, mountainous location.
When we are out there doing our job, we are never alone. This is an example of a built-in support structure, which we can consider being the wingman concept.
The question is, "How far does this support structure extend?"
Our responsibility toward our fellow Airmen extends beyond the gates of the base. We have a responsibility to keep each other safe and out of harm's way. When someone is taken out of the fight, the greater the burden becomes for everyone else.
As wingmen, we must all ensure there is a plan of action, and we are all duty bound to follow that plan.
If people do not stick to the plan, there is always a consequence, whether serious or minor. We should look not only at the consequences to determine if our actions are right, but rather we should look to do the right thing at all times. As wingmen, we must always do the right thing even when no one is looking.
We are all bound to make mistakes; however, those mistakes can often be mitigated when our friends and peers offer us good counsel.
It is the duty of wingmen to stay on vigilant watch so their friends do not go down the wrong path. The decisions we make in life are ultimately our own; however, those around us have a great role to play, either through direct intervention or by their exemplary actions.
In the end, a good wingman will ensure whoever they are supporting makes it from one point to the next safely. They realize the value of protecting those around them.
"Service before Self" should be more than a mantra we hear at a commander's call. It should be a way of life for all Airmen. We have made the decision to serve our country in any capacity we can.
The simplest way we can do this is by being the best wingman out there. To be anything else would break not only our vows we made to the Air Force but to our nation as a whole.