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  • Focusing, Inspiring, Motivating and Developing Airmen

    We all know the importance of feedback. Feedback facilitates a meaningful and purposeful dialogue between supervisors and the Airmen they lead. Feedback forces supervisors to get to know their subordinates by asking deeper questions about finances, relationships and other things that can impact an

  • Leadership: dreaming, learning, becoming more

    In the words of President John Quincy Adams, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." Adams explained the essence of leadership in fewer than 20 words by stating that a leader is one who motivates others to be more than they thought they

  • Why Security Forces?

    Last February I arrived here after commissioning through the Officer Training School, and I had no idea what to expect.I had been a proud enlisted member in the medical career field for the previous 14 years, but this was going to be different. As I transitioned to the officer corps, I entered the

  • Alcohol Awareness Month: time to educate, not condemn

    Many adults drink moderately and responsibly without complications. Having a drink of alcohol is a popular way to relax at the end of the day or spend time with friends and family. There are even indications from research that some can derive modest health benefits from an occasional drink.However,

  • Passing the buck

    I arrived at my first duty station, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Thanksgiving Day in 1987. There was a senior master sergeant working the front gate. His blue shirt was perfectly pressed, his pants bloused, and he had on highly polished jump boots with white laces, white gloves and an ascot. He

  • Integrity is forever

    It takes courage to do the right thing, no matter the consequences.It takes years to build a reputation as a person of integrity, but it only takes a second to lose that hard-earned reputation.Do you jeopardize your integrity to fulfill momentary desires?Ultimately, some such choices may have

  • Lessons my mustache taught me

    In February, Mustache March was a grand idea. In my mind's eye, I saw myself proudly strutting through the squadron bristling with masculine whiskers, fending off fawning admirers while humbly accepting effusive compliments on my bodacious mustache. Yet, as with many things in life, reality was far

  • Overcoming barriers: African-American women in the military

    The reasons behind America's Civil War and why people fought are numerous. For one woman, freedom was the only reason needed. While working for the Union Army as cook and nurse, she was also an armed scout and spy. In fact, she would become the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war when

  • Support from wingmen helps defy once-impossible goals

    Since I can remember, I have always had an aspiration to join the Air Force, but joining meant an ample amount of physical activity, even after basic training, with yearly, if not twice yearly, physical fitness tests. A timed, mile-and-a-half run is the standard distance ran on the cardiovascular