The sum of the parts Published April 13, 2009 By Lt. Col. Geoff Norton 305th Operations Support Squadron commander McGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. -- The Air Force is composed of more than 300 thousand "parts," but the collective "whole" is what makes it one of the best professional organizations on the planet. It operates so successfully only because the parts all work toward a common objective. Those parts are our Airmen who conduct their daily mission/duties without a second thought, and ensure the safety of our country. It is important, however, for Airmen to understand that what they do is important and to understand how their individual duty fits into the larger Air Force mission. If we can get our Airman to understand that, then we can instill a sense of pride and feeling that "I did that and I did it well." The novelist and philosopher, Ayn Rand, described the virtue of pride as "moral ambitiousness" because it is predicated on the aspiration to live up to one's ideals. Simply put, it is valuing one's self-esteem and taking the necessary steps required to achieve it. Having an Airman understand that repairing and inspecting a piece of equipment, such as night vision goggles, has a huge impact on the warfighters (aircrew, special forces, etc.) who use them. Those NVGs are used by aircrew to safely fly into often hostile environments where special forces use them to ensure their safety and ultimately the safety of the United States. It's kind of like that game where people try and link every movie to Kevin Bacon! It's imperative all leaders, from young NCOs to our most senior leadership, help our young Airmen make that connection and instill the pride they so justly deserve. However, advocates of humility often characterize pride in terms of vanity and boasting. However, objective pride can be based on a rational recognition of facts in their proper context. An example of this would be if critics of pride would look at people who choose to eat a healthy diet as unhealthy because they equate it to anorexia. It is important to remember what pride is not. Is it not the unmerited admiration of oneself -- ensure your Airmen understand. We often associate pride with actions taken in the past, such as "look what I did yesterday." This is essentially taking credit for one's specific achievements. However, orienting pride toward the future is a much more productive tool for Airmen. In this case, Airmen are taking responsibility for their self esteem and building their character. It entails taking responsibility for their own success and professional development by seeking opportunities and being accountable for their own growth. Opportunities include your CCAF degree, advanced academic degrees, Professional Military Education and mentoring from supervisors/leaders. Allow Airmen to expand to areas outside of their normal area of expertise. This will allow for a greater sense of pride because now that Airman has moved outside of their comfort zone and that is certainly something to be proud of. Another prospect for improving one's pride in their workplace is through process improvement, or Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century. It's important to know that Airmen should not take this as a condemnation of their work and shot at their pride. They should take satisfaction in the outcome knowing they had a hand in it and therefore should have a new sense of pride in their accomplishments. But, they need to remember every improvement they make directly affects someone "down the line." By improving the individual Airman's process they, usually unbeknownst to them, have improved the process from the workplace to the foxhole. So take a moment to shake an Airman's hand and tell them, "What you do is important. What you do matters."