12 Nov 2009

2009 H1N1 Flu and You

The 55th Medical Group Public Health Office provides the following facts regarding the H1N1 strain of influenza. With knowledge and understanding, individuals and families can increase their chances of staying healthy during the upcoming months.What is 2009 H1N1?2009 H1N1 is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This contagious virus is

12 Nov 2009

Reaching lifelong goal: An amazing moment

More than 10 years ago I promised myself to run a marathon before I turned 35. Time slipped by and I had all but forgotten my youthful promise to myself. In January, I dusted off my old promise when I overheard one of my family members deciding to run the Lincoln half marathon. As I was to turn 35 in December I decided to see if my goal was still

3 Nov 2009

Snake on the Plane

Imagine you're flying straight and level at 5,000 feet in a single- engine Cessna when out of the instrument panel pops the head of a snake. I think most of us would call this a crisis or at the very least an unexpected event. What would you do in this situation? Maybe a better question is how do you respond to and manage crisis? During my limited

14 Oct 2009

Donate marrow, save a life

Six years ago while donating blood, I was asked if I would like to be on the bone marrow registry. "Sure," I said, "why not?" I have been a blood donor for many years. Fast-forward six years, when a piece of mail arrived from the C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program, the DOD subset of the National Bone Marrow Registry. The

8 Oct 2009

Innovation is the answer

From the birth of our nation to modern day, innovation has been a key to American success. The colonists who came to Jamestown in 1607, embarked on a business venture hoping to reap profits. The pilgrims arriving on the Mayflower in 1620 sought religious freedom. Both groups were looking for a life they believed would be superior to what they left

5 Oct 2009

Serving offers opportunity, growth

Earlier this year, I had the unique opportunity to enlist my son into the Air Force Delayed Enlistment Program. Today, he's more than halfway through basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. In the months leading up to his decision to join the Air Force, he talked a lot about different jobs he was considering, school options and

5 Oct 2009

You could get $90,000 just for reading this!

What would you be willing to do for $90,000? Would you come to work on time every day? Would choose your associates more wisely? Would you abstain from drinking too much alcohol? If you knew you would get a $90,000 bonus just for staying out of trouble for a few years, would you? Of course you would, yet as the area defense counsel for Offutt, I

2 Oct 2009

Are You a Renter or an Owner?

I think it was Larry Summers who once famously said, "In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car." That seemingly simple statement is actually quite astute, for it gets right to the heart of a point I have tried to make in the almost seven years I have been fortunate to serve as a commander. Namely, that it is only when we

2 Oct 2009

Leadership by example

Warrior's of Team Offutt, I would like to take a few minutes of your time to share a bit of my mantra on leadership; specifically leadership by example. As a recent transplant to Offutt from Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall, England, I have been bombarded with solicitations to participate in several organizations such as the Top 3, 5/6 Network, Air

25 Sep 2009

Why Risk It?

Labor Day marked the end of the Air Force's 101 Critical Days of Summer for 2009 and I spent that weekend making the streets in Nebraska safer by manning DUI checkpoints with Mothers Against Drunk Driving. According to the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety in 2008, 67 Nebraskans died as a result of 61 alcohol-related crashes and an estimated 3,000