CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Once when I was exiting the doors of the club at Yokota AB, Japan, I accidentally dropped some of my personal belongings. The only challenge I did not master that afternoon was putting my cover on my head tightly enough before I had everything securely in place. Well as you can imagine, this is where things took a slight turn.
As I bent over to retrieve my belongings, or on my way back up, my cover somehow got a little unsettled on top of my head and fell off and that is when I heard someone yell "Airman! Now I know you're not that far removed from basic training to remember the proper way to square the bill of that cover on your head." The retort came from a technical sergeant who felt it was his duty to correct me on the spot. "Yes, sir" was the first and only thing that came to mind. I offered no explanations, no excuses and no alibis. I simply adjusted my cap and pressed on.
To this day, it amazes me on how just hearing the authority and confidence exude from one NCO was able to take me back to a wonderful base in Texas where everything started for me.
Recently, the Air Force senior leadership went through some heavy changes with the appointment of a new secretary of the Air Force and Air Force chief of staff.
Through Air Force Notices to Airmen, Roll Call and other various channels, maybe you have heard the battle rhythm demanding us to get "Back to Basics." So what does back to basics mean to you?
Is it a simple word, perhaps a catchy phrase? Is it a particular place for you, a definite time or moment in your life? Does it take you back to Lackland AFB, or maybe it was technical school? Or better yet, was it when you were issued your first volume of your career development course when you were learning the basics of your new job? Whenever I hear the back to basics motto, I am reminded of discipline.
To me, discipline is the heart of knowing the absolute fundamentals of one's skill or profession. If I am applying this in my life, it usually means that somewhere I took my eye off the target; I lost focus, or no longer have a clear purpose of my mission. If we had better understanding of the importance in our jobs and the impact each of us make in the overall mission, then maybe we would have a better understanding of our individual efforts and their ripple effects felt by our fellow Airmen.
Vince Lombardi, an American football coach, said that some of us will perform our jobs well and some of us will not, but we are all judged by only one thing and that is the end result. The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.
Getting back to basics ... what will you do the next time you hear this in your work center?