Commentaries

Commander's Comments
September 26, 2007 — Each year, the third Friday of September is set aside to honor and recognize the sacrifices our former prisoners of war made to keep America free, and to recognize the families of our servicemembers still missing in action as they continue to hope and pray their loved ones will one day come home. In keeping with this proud tradition, Team... MORE

Manage risks to stay alive
September 26, 2007 — Despite the cost of gas being more than $2 a gallon, highway traffic is still very heavy. Regardless, if you are traveling to a long distance getaway or just staying around town, the key to arriving to your destination is managing the risk. You never know when you take a blind curve if someone else will be in your lane to meet you. Here in... MORE

First sergeant special duty a career broadening experience
September 26, 2007 — As a technical sergeant, I never considered becoming a first sergeant. My goal was to make master sergeant and retire somewhere after 20 years. At that time, "career broadening" was a catch phrase, but retraining was rarely considered. It was after I had been a master sergeant for a few years that I was notified I had been selected to apply for (as... MORE

Exercise American freedom, right to vote
September 26, 2007 — Many people have asked me why I stayed in the service when many of my friends left the Air Force for more lucrative jobs. When I answer them, I tell them the story of why I joined. When I was in high school, my family would take vacations to the beach. One day, I watched a boy who was about three years old try to bury his dad in the sand. The boy... MORE

Focus on strengths, overcome weaknesses
September 21, 2007 — The law of flotation explains inspirational author and speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer, was not discovered by a group of people standing around contemplating the sinking of things. Similarly, and a little closer to home, the first successful Wright brothers' flights were not accomplished by a group of people standing around contemplating the way things stay... MORE

Commander's Comments
September 19, 2007 — Team Charleston, the cooler weather this week signals the end of summer and the start of the fall and winter seasons. During the upcoming months, we will observe numerous holiday celebrations, many of which may involve drinking. We have had several alcohol-related incidents recently and I am compelled to address this alarming trend. Just this week,... MORE

Followership necessary to become good leader
September 19, 2007 — Leadership is 6.5 percent of the Air Force Professional Development Guide while followership is five percent of the leadership chapter. This is strange to me because most of us spend a vast majority of our career as followers. What I mean to say is everyone spends part of their day following and another part leading. For example, a noncommissioned... MORE

Command Chief’s Corner
September 19, 2007 — Team Charleston, the Air Force Professional Development Guide defines leadership as "the art of influencing and directing people to accomplish the mission." Many have studied this definition and even memorized it, but leadership in action is what people really remember. The definition provides a powerful word picture, but there is no substitution... MORE

Commander's Comments
September 12, 2007 — This week we will observe the 60th anniversary of our great Air Force. In the Air Force we talk a lot about our core values, we talk about integrity, we talk about service before self and we talk about excellence in all we do. As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, I would like to share with you a short story about the birth of the U.S. Air Force... MORE

Strife enemy to Airmen and relationships
September 12, 2007 — There was a baker who used to buy his butter fresh every day from a dairy farmer. As time went on, the baker began to suspect that the farmer was cheating him by not giving him his full weight of butter. One day, he carefully checked the weight of the butter, and found that his suspicions were indeed correct. The disgruntled baker had the farmer... MORE