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Taking care of Airmen, families and yourself

  • Published
  • By Col. Glenn Yap
  • 305th Medical Group commander
McGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. --  Taking care of Airmen and families is a core value and belief that forms part of the foundation of our great service. This is not a meaningless motto or saying, but a principle all of us practice and live by on a daily basis. We can see countless examples of these every day. Whether it is spending a little extra time making sure our servicemembers are getting the proper education and training to execute the mission, to helping out a deployed Airman's family with car problems, the vast majority of Airmen do not think twice about helping someone in need both on- or off-duty.

Executing the wing's mission is like running a marathon. To finish it, you must pace yourself. At times during the race, you'll need to sprint to past other runners. This is similar to putting in 12-14 hour days to prepare for an inspection or a big event. At other times, you can slow down a little and conserve some energy. If you sprint constantly, you'll never finish the race. If you slow down too much, you'll run out of time and not complete the marathon. Many of us can work 12-14 hour days for extended periods, but eventually it takes its toll. We start making mistakes, become less efficient in executing the mission and may not be able to "surge" to execute the mission if we need to.

Taking care of yourself will ensure you will be able to execute the mission and continue to take care of your fellow Airmen and their families. Let's face it -- we all know what we need to do to take care of ourselves. It's not rocket science. From a professional development standpoint, ask yourself if you are continually trying to gain and hone your technical and leadership skills. Are you working on getting your degree or certification? Do you have the proper Professional Military Education complete? Are you staying current with the latest developments in your field?

On a more personal level, are you exercising enough? How healthy are your eating habits? Are you getting the proper medical and dental care? Are you dealing with stress in a healthy manner? Are you spending enough time with friends and family relaxing? Do you have a plan of what you would like to do in the next three to five years and how you can get there?

Once again, we all know wanting and planning to do something is much different than actually doing it. With the new year, challenge yourself to not only plan on how to take care of yourself, but to follow through with it. Invest the time in yourself to recharge and sharpen both your technical and leadership skills. Ask your spouse, significant other, or your wingman to help you reach your goals. One of my personal goals is to score a 100 on the physical fitness test. It will be tough, since I need to decrease my run time and increase my score by 8.5 points.

Taking care of yourself is a win for everyone. The Air Force gets an Airman who will execute the mission over the long-run in the most effective manner. Plus, your family and loved ones will benefit from you being there for them during and after your Air Force career.