JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
In this extremely challenging time for our nation, change is nothing new to the Air Force or any large corporation in the civilian sector worldwide. However, leadership styles and demands are very different and can contribute to success or failure.
In the Armed Forces, we cannot afford to fail at carrying out our mission. The defense of our nation literally depends on mission success.
Corporations, on the other hand, can prosper or go under without updating equipment, products or retraining their people. Failure to do so in the military will most assuredly change the course of security and freedom of a nation.
By now, Airmen are all aware of the "force structure" direction that dictates downsizing in personnel and aging equipment to meet tomorrow's demands. These are challenges we must confront and overcome using the great leadership skills demonstrated daily and written about in officer and enlisted performance reports. Otherwise, we can undermine these challenges with negative attitudes or words spoken to senior leaders, peers, subordinates and civilian friends.
You've heard it before, we have two choices: "Either be part of the solution or part of the problem."
Leaders not only choose to be part of the solution, but create and develop processes to make things work the best possible way with the available resources. They do this while demonstrating a positive "can-do" attitude and igniting enthusiasm and pride in the work center. Innovation and technology drives the resources required to accomplish the mission, whether it's manpower changes or cutting edge technology and equipment.
In my relatively short 20-plus years of service, I've witnessed the Air Force transitioning from a 702 administrator taking notes on a scrap piece of paper, typing APRs on IBM typewriters -- for those of you that have never seen or heard of a typewriter, "Google" it -- to writing EPRs online, having the computer "spell check" it and digitally signing the performance report.
The Air Force has gone from the F-4 Phantom, which I personally had the pleasure of supporting as part of Tactical Air Command and Operation Southern Watch, F-15 Eagles and F-16 Falcons, evolving to the F-22 Raptor and the X-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which will lead the way for "air superiority." The fifty year old B-52 Stratofortress has undertaken dramatic upgrades that arguably keep us strategically viable. Then we have Air Mobility Command's workhorse, the C-17 Globemaster III, which continues to fulfill airlift demands across international distances directly to small austere airfields anywhere in the world.
On another important front, information flow has changed drastically from getting lower level information from flight roll calls to the establishment of the Air Force Portal that provides career, finance and professional development data at your fingertips. Again, leadership and change go hand-in-hand and are critical if we are going to obtain mission success and lead the world into the future on the cutting edge.
Despite all of the changes the Air Force has faced since 1947, to include launching Global Strike and Cyber Commands to manage America's first-strike nuclear arsenal and unify all military cyber operations from various service branches under one roof, we are still the best fighting air, space and cyber force on the planet. It's an exciting time to serve in the United States Air Force and it needs all of the energetic leadership that we can muster to remain on top.
Tomorrow will most assuredly require more intestinal fortitude and expertise. Are you up for the challenge?