JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
As I watched the 2010 Winter Olympics with my family over the last two weeks, I thought about what sets Olympic medal winners apart from average athletes. Olympic athletes exert great concentration and consistency when it comes to tedious and routine activities that prepare them for competition. Winning a medal literally often comes down to the millisecond.
Examples of the importance of details can also be seen in military history. For Operation D-Day in 1944, the Allied Forces conducted extensive planning, including such details as knowing the tidal pattern in order to determine the best time to execute the invasion.
These examples in athletics and military history remind us to pay attention to the little things.
For example, every morning as part of the Mission Update Meeting, Jim Cheesborough presents detailed itineraries for the upcoming missions, including the location of each planned stop. Master Sgt. Michael Ellard provides specific numbers for the MUM, including the number of mission departures and the number of delays.
Just as the weather affected the Olympic athletes and planning in Normandy, the weather affects our ability to accomplish our global mission and Master Sgt. Kyle Gayan lets me know details such as the wind speed to the precise knot and the monthly precipitation to the hundredth of an inch. Capt. John Rudzinski and Master Sgt. David Simmons brief the Daily Maintenance Status, including the number of jets in scheduled maintenance and even more specific, the number of aircraft scheduled to be washed or painted. Lt. Col. Scott D'Antoni covers every detail when we have a safety incident.
Wing staff meetings are the same, and as an example, Laura Abell covers all the events the base offers to families in the coming months. While collecting these types of data can become very tedious, my commanders and each contributor understands the significance of it and the associated mission impact if it's inaccurate. Everyone's detailed input, correct and complete, comes together to form the big picture and we pay attention to those details.
I'll end with this thought - March 4 we released the senior master sergeant promotion list. If you are a young Airman, ask yourself how and why these individuals were selected for promotion. What was their recipe for success? When you think you know the answer, go ask them. I appreciate your efforts to make Team Charleston a success ... from Haiti to Afghanistan ... our nation is counting on us.