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Commentary Search

  • The time we saved a life

    As Airmen, we are constantly preparing to be ready for the worst days of our lives. We live by a fit to fight ethos and maintain readiness for the most extreme of emergency situations. Though, sometimes we realize we aren’t just prepared to fight for our lives and remember that we are trained to

  • Preventing suicide - starting with myself

        There is rarely a day that passes when I do not think of ending my own life.     Some days, my depression is an overwhelming weight to bear and it takes nearly everything I have just to push the thoughts away and get on with my routine.     Other days, and even on good ones, the thought creeps

  • It’s okay to not be okay

    “I love you, baby bear. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”My mom said these words to me every day, for as long as I can remember. She would describe me as the light of her life who made the dark times feel better.

  • Differences in sorrow, memories: one year in Honor Guard

    “On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Air Force and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation of your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.”

  • Superhero’s secret: Whiteman AFB ‘sidekicks’

    In the middle of Missouri lives a superhero only a few have ever seen, let alone met. A one-of-a-kind machine, created solely to defend and avenge, that soars high in the clouds in stealthy disguise.

  • Learning ICBM roots through airpower history

    A few years ago while attending a military education course at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, one of my classes was being led by a civilian instructor who was a previous attorney.   He was teaching us about the history of airpower and did so by guiding the class through a case-like explanation

  • Dragons: 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

    Dragons … death from above!! Is the over-powering cry you hear when a member of the 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron’s name is announced at any wing function. Why are we so loud and proud? I’m glad you asked.

  • How bad do you want it?

    Like many kids, I loved fast jets and desperately wanted to fly them. Little did I know how hard I’d have to work for it. During high school wood shop, tragedy struck in less than a second. A grab, a jolt, then fluid; I just lost a fight with a table saw. I watched my dream of being a military pilot

  • What nuclear deterrence should mean to you

    “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” These are the words former President Theodore Roosevelt spoke about his style of foreign policy and it’s still relevant today. The United States has been a nuclear deterrent since the 1940s. Many have questioned whether it’s necessary to possess nuclear weapons,