Commentaries

Leadership in a time of austerity
July 6, 2015 — The financial crisis of the late 2000's created a political environment that allowed for significant cuts to Federal Government spending. The Budget Control Act of 2011, commonly known as sequestration, spread more than $900 billion worth of cuts equally between domestic and defense spending over 10 years. The cuts were designed to be... MORE

Time to say goodbye
July 6, 2015 — Team Charleston,The change of command for the 628th Air Base Wing and Joint Base Charleston is once again upon us. Only a short time ago I stood before you and pledged my best; for all of you and the command which I was charged with leading. My time in this unique role is almost complete. In the coming week we will gather once again to pass the... MORE

“The Game” and what it taught me
June 24, 2015 — With the exception of family and close friends, most people don't know that I started swimming at age six and continued through most of my time in college.Being part of a large military family, swimming was something my parents could easily get us involved in wherever we moved. It was a way to involve us in an instant community and for us to... MORE

Reflections on teamwork…and a good read!
June 23, 2015 — "The challenges they had faced together had taught them humility--the need to subsume their individual egos for the sake of the boat as a whole--and humility was the common gateway through which they were able now to come together and begin to do what they had not been able to do before."- Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans... MORE

Col. Scott Sauter, 315th Airlift Wing vice commander

Leading millennials to success
June 17, 2015 — Are you getting as much workplace productivity out of the millennials as you should be? The majority of Airmen in the Air Force today fall into the age group that constitutes being a Millennial (born in the 80's or 90's). Millennials are identified as being well educated, skilled in technology, very self-confident, able to multi-task and very... MORE

Excellence in all we do; at home and at work
June 16, 2015 — While trying to decide which topic to discuss as a commander, I thought about subjects my squadron deals with including: suicide, substance abuse and DUIs. However, I realized I am very excited about being a new parent. The new responsibilities of parenthood challenge me to think about myself with regards to our Air Force core values. In... MORE

Red, White and You – Happy Flag Day!
June 8, 2015 — Flag Day, June 14th, happens to fall on a Sunday this year and I started thinking about what I could and should do to celebrate the most recognizable and cherished symbol of our great nation. Seeking inspiration, I headed over to the Air Base retreat grounds where the base flag presides over a horseshoe of state flags. There was a breeze in the... MORE

Lt. Col. Chris Hobbs, 315th Maintenance Group deputy commander

Time management; one of the keys to success
June 3, 2015 — Timeliness is usually a simple thing to manage. However, it seems these days it is getting harder and harder to attend all of the meetings and accomplish all of the other tasks being required of us. According to Merriam-Webster, timeliness is "the quality or habit of arriving or being ready on time." To me, this means showing up for meetings on... MORE

Master Chief Petty Officer Joseph Gardner. (Courtesy photo)

The commander's (and our) inspection program
June 3, 2015 — Just before the Memorial Day weekend, members across Joint Base Charleston participated in Exercise Crescent Reach in which the 437th and 315th Airlift Wings, together with the 628th Air Base Wing, tested their ability to deploy tasked personnel, generate and launch a large C-17 formation, in this case 15 aircraft, and to operate and survive in a... MORE

(Col. Jimmy Canlas, 437th Airlift Wing vice commander)

The “Little Blue Book;” still provides the words to serve by
June 3, 2015 — A few weeks ago, base shred day encouraged me to do a bit of spring cleaning. That's when I ran across my original copy of the Air Force "Little Blue Book" I received as a lieutenant in 1997. Thumbing through the yellowed pages reminded me of three powerful core values that inspired me and thousands of other Airmen to uphold a standard of... MORE