Commentaries

Command Chief’s Corner
November 7, 2007 — Team Charleston, at the Airlift/Tanker Association Conference Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney McKinley was one of our guest speakers. Chief McKinley took the opportunity to provide a roll call to the command chiefs and stand alone group superintendents and it was a rare pleasure for us. The topic was "Standards and Discipline," which is... MORE

The Air Force has strong tradition: change
November 7, 2007 — A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to sit on a first sergeant panel for our remarkable Airman Leadership School, and one of the students made a comment how the Air Force has no "tradition." A pretty strong statement by this young man, but I pondered what he said for a moment. My first reaction was to object and talk about all the things I thought... MORE

Commander's Comments
November 7, 2007 — Team Charleston, what a great way to start this past weekend by ending a 24-hour observance of Wingman Day with numerous events designed for information sharing, teambuilding, and bonding with your wingman. A special thank you to Bob Beres, S.C. State Trooper, for his series of presentations highlighting the dangers of drinking and driving and the... MORE

Commander's Comments
October 31, 2007 — This week, Team Charleston had the privilege of hosting the Air Mobility Command Commander in Chief Installation Excellence Award evaluation team. The team is charged with personally evaluating the top three AMC bases who have demonstrated the highest standards of excellence for the year. This year, Charleston AFB, Travis AFB and Dover AFB were... MORE

Mind your ‘Ps’ and ‘Qs!’
October 31, 2007 — Have you ever heard anyone say, "mind your Ps and Qs"? Do you know what it means? If you do an internet search on "Ps" and "Qs," you'll find this idiom has many different meanings, but the most common theme is to mind one's manners or be careful of one's behavior ... but I don't see the "P" and "Q" connection. The saying can be traced back to the... MORE

But it was just one beer!
October 31, 2007 — The weekend was not all that bad. I had only received five calls and was only required to go in to work twice, which totaled four hours of lost sleep, but this is what I volunteered for. My lovely bride of the past 21 years knows that I happen to enjoy a good dark beer. So after a weekend like I had, she decided to be nice and pick me up a bottle... MORE

Commander's Comments
October 29, 2007 — Team Charleston, it has been quite a busy month for me with multiple TDYs. I returned Sunday from a mission downrange, and now I am in Nashville, Tenn., attending the annual Airlift/Tanker Association convention. Traveling as a crewmember on the downrange flights, I had the opportunity to do the mission of this wing ... we took our nation's Fight... MORE

Get farther in life by becoming a mentor
October 24, 2007 — Who was your mentor in middle school? How about high school or college? Who is it now? We often think of mentors as teachers or individuals we have met who truly motivate us. So what happens to people who don't meet someone who motivates them? What kind of mentor do they follow? Webster defines a mentor as anyone who is "a trusted counselor or... MORE

Pushing limits doesn’t always save lives
October 24, 2007 — Team Charleston has done very well this past summer with no major safety incidents. We did, however, have an incident where we unfortunately lost one of our own in a traffic accident. Our operations tempo is as busy as ever and the stress and strains of the mission and everyday life are constant. We are all now looking forward to the holiday breaks... MORE

It’s not just about hauling cargo
October 17, 2007 — Since the inception of flight, airplanes have been used in a variety of missions. From dropping ordnance to supplying troops and providing humanitarian assistance, the Air Force has led the way time and time again. In 1919, flood-ravaged San Antonio was supplied by airplanes that flew overhead and dropped much-needed food and supplies. Little did... MORE