BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --
Strikers,
We are a family, and we need to have a family discussion about what is happening in our country.
Barely one week ago, we witnessed something tragic and horrible– another senseless death of an African American at the hands of someone entrusted to serve. This is not okay...this will never be okay. And while we need to have the difficult conversation, we need to realize that some of our teammates are truly struggling in a significant way. Don’t try to evaluate that. Don’t try to rationalize that; just realize the pain is real.
The immediate need is for empathy. We need to be there for our teammates and take time to listen now as we begin to work through this. We acknowledge that we are all different and have different life experiences. We all joined the Air Force to be a part of something bigger than ourselves…a place where you can succeed regardless of who you are, what you look like, or where you came from. We are all responsible to make this our reality.
This has to start by building trust in a difficult time if we are to be the force that extends dignity and respect to all people. We are not there yet as an organization, but we will do everything we can to get this right. I promise that we will be a command where our actions match our words, and we will create an environment for all Airmen to thrive.
We will get through this together.