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Commentary Search

  • Send the right message about leadership

    "Too often, we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." Leo Buscaglia. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of serving as the wing executive officer for a

  • One Airman's tragedy is another's life lesson

    I still remember the confusion I felt as I slid out of bed to find the phone. It was ringing too loudly and too early to be the office. Living in the U.K., my wife and I had become accustomed to late calls as relatives struggled to figure out the time difference, but it was too late for that. In my

  • Set standards consistently, every day

    We often talk about setting the standards for our Airmen to follow and holding them accountable when they fail to do so. In my opinion, the best way to teach adherence to the standards is through example. This became painfully clear to me one summer morning at unit PT. Back in 2009, when I was a

  • Safeguard your marriage

    Extra-marital affairs are a significant problem in American society. Research suggests that 50 percent of all couples will break their vows of sexual or emotional exclusivity during their relationship. Research also suggests that 25 percent of wives and 44 percent of husbands are unfaithful at some

  • Leadership about collective progression

    You can find leadership lessons in the strangest places.Some people search high and low, far and wide for mentors and wise sages with the hope of finding leadership enlightenment, the moment when everything in your supervision tool box finds a purpose. For me, that moment didn't happen during a

  • Career knowledge, performance translate to relevance, respect

    I arrived at my first duty station in November 1987 as a trained and motivated KC-135 Stratotanker maintainer. I was an expert -- or so I thought. On my first day on the job, I walked toward the expediter truck excited about the drive to the flightline. I was about to be dropped off near a

  • Take a stand

    Every day, I pick up a newspaper or see an account of an American being celebrated for taking a stand. For some, the stand was for faith, for others, against injustice. For some, the stand was to defend freedom, for others to defend rights - even when the defense of those rights was not always clear

  • 'Lucky' people take personal responsibility for their own success

    "She's so lucky! He has all the luck!" Just like you, I hear these phrases thrown around from time to time.I've often been taken somewhat by surprise when I hear one of these comments. Don't get me wrong, I think there are times when truly random events of good fortune happen.Take for instance the

  • Air Force dad 'saving country every day'

    What makes a military father different from every other father out there?Is it the sacrifice of time spent away from home, the sometimes long hours spent working through exercises and real world conflict? Or is it the unfaltering commitment to freedom for all combined with the drive and necessity to

  • How do we balance it all?

    As we prepare for the 87th Air Base Wing Wingman Day on Aug. 22, 2013, where we focus on the Social Domain of Comprehensive Airman Fitness, I wanted to provide some thoughts about resilience. Additionally, the same day as the 87th ABW Wingman Day, we also have the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst