CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Did you go through basic training, Officer Training School, Reserve Officer Training School or the Air Force Academy? If you went through any of these excellent training venues I guarantee one of the primary lessons learned was to pay strict attention to detail.
In trying to instill an expanded sense of discipline necessary for service in the military, instructors ensured that each trainee paid close attention to everything they did. Every detail was subject to sharp scrutiny and every trainee quickly learned every detail associated with training is eminently important. I've noticed that somehow, the discipline that attention to detail requires has been lost over the years. This may have happened through a general loss of discipline or because some feel their military service is mundane, "just a job" and not a dedicated way of life.
Attention to detail in all the things that we do is a part of military life and the lack of attention to detail has implication beyond the task at hand. Airplanes have crashed and we've lost lives as a direct result of the lack of attention to detail. Each of us is expected to maintain a high level of discipline as a military member and that discipline should be evident in every facet of our lives. Checklists need to be followed, not with a cursory review, but with the same zeal and attention to detail as when you did it for the first time. A mission delayed for maintenance problems is, at times, unavoidable, but a mission delayed due to maintenance done incorrectly is unconscionable. Required paperwork quickly falls by the wayside under mission pressures and takes days to re-accomplish the information that was once readily available. It seems we never have the time to do things right the first time, but always have the time to do it twice. The time to renew the discipline that ensures that even the most mundane of tasks is done to exacting standards is at hand.
All military members have the willpower to overcome adversity and self-discipline goes hand-in-hand with willpower. Self-discipline allows us to persevere during hardships and through difficult times and the military way of life has had more than its share of both. Simply by serving in uniform, you demonstrate that you have the tenacity, the willpower and the self-discipline to succeed.
It is everyone's job to ensure the task at hand is done correctly, efficiently and in compliance with applicable instructions. All levels of leadership need to ensure discipline is enforced and it is incumbent on every military member to apply self-discipline in all we do.
High standards, self-discipline and attention to detail are the rule of the day; let's make things happen on time, safely within the system and in accordance with rules and regulations.
Team Charleston - Take the Fight to the Enemy!