WASHINGTON –
Seeking an enduring and distinctive way to reflect the Air Force's cultural identity and adapt to changing missions, senior leaders have solicited feedback from Airmen to help develop potential mottos, officials said Aug. 2.
"The intent is to create a phrase that captures the spirit of the Air Force, is inspirational and serves as an enduring rallying cry for Airmen, from Airmen," said Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Carrol H. "Howie" Chandler.
The input and research process will soon yield a list of 10 candidate mottos that will go to a "rack-and-stack" preference test in a survey sent to thousands of Airmen throughout the Air Force, said Lt. Col. Clark Groves, the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs chief of opinion research and media assessment. The commander of Air Education and Training Command will then present the final three selections at the upcoming CORONA hosted by the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo., at the end of September.
Colonel Groves made the distinction between temporary recruiting slogans and an official motto, which will be the service's first.
"The Air Force motto, in contrast, is focused on building esprit-de-corps, and is meant to endure to future generations of Airmen," Colonel Groves said.
Extensive feedback from Airmen collected via Web-based and face-to-face surveys have provided a path for developing an enduring motto, Colonel Groves said.
"Our main objective at the start of the process was to capture the pure, unfiltered perspective of our active-duty, Reserve and Guard forces on what it meant to them to be an Airman," Colonel Groves said.
The final motto will be published following CORONA. (AFNS)