SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) –
As the father of three children, I have fond memories of sitting around the kitchen table with my kids putting picture puzzles together. Each one of my children enjoyed seeing the picture begin to develop as the puzzle pieces were found and gently put into place.
As they got older, it became a competition to see who would find the last piece and have the honor of placing it in the correct position to complete the picture. It became so competitive that arguments would begin and the joy we shared working the puzzle began to fade. What they did not understand is that the first piece was just important as the last.
As a member of the Air Force, deployed in a joint environment, I realize my contribution is just as important as the person standing guard while I sleep or the person providing the necessary support to load and ready aircraft for flight.
When one of the pieces is missing, then the entire mission suffers. The honor and importance is not in the last piece of the puzzle, but the result of the individual pieces coming together to successfully complete the mission.
Each piece must fit perfectly together in order for the picture to be correct and the mission to be successful. Following the proper instructions and guidelines allow us to apply our piece correctly and guarantee our piece will contribute positively to mission accomplishment.
Cutting corners or ignoring established procedures could change your piece just enough that it may not correctly fit or achieve the desired results. One of the biggest Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century initiatives we could all embrace is to do all things the correct way the first time. By taking the time to do things correctly, we set the stage for excellence.
Having served in the military for close to 23 years and being assigned to various organizations with numerous deployments, I am constantly reminded of three things.
First, each piece of the puzzle is important. Second, each piece must fit properly in order for the picture to be completed. And third, each piece must be managed and placed with a champion's effort.
Accomplishment of these three things allows a significant contribution to the overall big picture and leads to successful mission accomplishment. As we realize how important our piece is and we guarantee our piece will fit correctly into the bigger picture, we can continue to guarantee to provide the best possible product by being champions in our field.
Are you making sure your piece of the puzzle fits into the bigger picture? If we all continue to guard our piece and hold it to the very end, the picture will remain incomplete and the mission will suffer. Instead we must understand the importance our contributions have on the total picture, no matter how small they may seem. We must guarantee when presenting our contributions that they are offered readily and with the excellence demanded of ourselves and others to complete the picture. Finally, we must continue to strive to be the champions in our field performing the ordinary things, extraordinarily well.