Commentaries

Leadership in an Airman's eyes
March 4, 2019 — I am coming up on two and a half years in the military. I have achieved many things in this short amount of time but have yet to supervise my own troops, something I am really looking forward to. When asked to write a commentary about leadership, I geared my thinking towards leadership qualities I have seen or learned rather than skills I have had to implement with a troop... MORE

Leadership wisdom from a shirt’s perspective
January 18, 2019 — First, I want to give a big shout out to a first sergeant mentor of mine, Senior Master Sgt. Thomas, for sharing this with me. This message is very powerful and was too good not to share with other Airman. So sit back, relax and grab a coffee as this won’t be a short read—nor should it be. Leadership is defined as “the art of influencing and directing people to accomplish the mission.” We all have our ways of leading and developing others and there is no one right way of doing so. You cannot be the same style of leader for every Airman. You can quickly burn bridges and crush your relationship with Airmen if you take a cookie-cutter approach to leadership... MORE

Groom your replacement
April 18, 2018 — I firmly believe things happen for a reason. This month is my opportunity to provide a Commander’s Commentary and it also happens to be the same month I joined the Air Force 20 years ago. Which means I’m closer to the end of my career than the beginning and when the day comes for me to retire, someone will replace me. I first heard the phrase, “You... MORE

Marvel’s Black Panther sets the tone for leaders everywhere
March 6, 2018 — My family and I had movie night a couple of weeks ago and as I was watching, I was immediately struck by the leadership modeling prevalent in the movie.For years, Air Force Professional Military Education has had leaders watch the movie “Twelve O’Clock High” as a portrayal of leadership examples, as part of the curriculum. “Twelve O’Clock High,”... MORE

High-Touch Leadership
February 9, 2018 — Technology has revolutionized our lives and the Air Force. Our high-tech culture and military are capable of unprecedented effectiveness and agility due to the speed of communication. In many facets of our personal and professional lives, technology gives us the ability to communicate rapidly and accomplish a variety of tasks with minimal personal... MORE

Education, Leadership and Paying It Back
December 28, 2017 — Last year I wrote a commentary about teamwork, commitment and trust and highlighted a significant point in our nation’s aviation history exemplifying a combination of all three - the Wright Brothers and the first flight. These are not the only components of a successful unit, business or organization. There are a few more I would like to share this... MORE

Are you a good leader?
November 29, 2017 — To know if you are a good leader you first have to know what a good leader is. Do your research. There are many definitions and variations of what a good leader is; one model often used in leadership literature is the transformational leadership model, first proposed by James MacGregor Burns and then developed by Bernard Bass. The transformational... MORE

Servant leadership, ministry of presence
October 18, 2017 — I am often asked about my decision to leave civilian ministry after 15 years of pastoring and missionary work to enter the Navy Chaplain Corps. My response is simple - I responded to a call to serve in a different way. Though I enjoyed my earlier years of ministry, I always sensed there was something missing. I would see the people I was called to... MORE

The importance of recognizing superior performers
May 3, 2017 — Recognition is a fundamental human need. Therefore, recognizing Airmen is a fundamental responsibility of leadership because taking care of Airmen is a leader’s priority. As the adage goes, if a leader takes care of the people, the people will take care of the mission. Recognition in the Air Force can be both formal and informal. Medals are an... MORE

A Junior Officer’s reflection on leadership
January 26, 2017 — While professional organizations require structure and the appointment of leaders within a tiered system to properly function, the daily demonstration of leadership by all personnel is a necessity for success. The first lesson I learned in my short career as a naval officer is: whether you know it, believe it or see it, we are all leaders. The... MORE