Dec. 13, 2010 Everybody needs a Wingman Everybody needs a Wingman. With the holidays approaching, it can feel quite lonely at times for many of us in the military who have no family to celebrate with. This is why we must always remember that in the Air Force we are a family. It's important we leave no one behind even the ones that are not
Dec. 9, 2010 Air advisor in Iraq gains a deeper appreciation for his own Air Force I spent my winter holiday season in Baghdad last year. Not by choice, but as the deployed air advisor to the surgeon general of the still-young Iraqi air force. When first advised of the tasking, I had little idea of what I was being asked to do. As I began to find out, I must admit to having had my
Dec. 8, 2010 'Tis the Season for Safety It's the most wonderful time of the year. Every year millions of Americans express their enthusiasm for the season by decorating their houses, illuminating their front lawns and exchanging gifts. Even though many of us have extremely crammed schedules this time of year, getting to our destination is
Nov. 29, 2010 Levels of Leadership Throughout my career I have sat through many classes on leadership, but the one lesson that really stuck in my head stems from an old "brown shoe" Vietnam veteran commander I worked for. He said, "Lt., your leadership philosophy should be clearly understood, easy to remember and, most importantly,
Nov. 24, 2010 Customs, Traditions of Remembrance As I sat at my son's gymnastics training Nov. 11 in Ipswich, England, Alex, one of the 14-year-old gymnasts, and Maria, the mother of one of the other boys, were talking about the Remembrance Day ceremony at Alex's school that day. Remembrance Day is very similar to Veteran's Day in the United
Nov. 9, 2010 Take care of one another, feel better about yourself Human dignity is a funny thing because not everyone views it the same way. In 2008, the President's Council on Bioethics attempted to arrive at a consensus about what human dignity meant, but failed. Dr. Edmund D. Pellegrino, the council's chairman, stated in the Letter of Transmittal to the
Oct. 29, 2010 Maximizing the performance of the Human Weapon System There's the UCI, NSSAV and ORE. And, don't forget the NSI. Recently the 55th Wing underwent and successfully passed a unit compliance inspection. In late October, the wing hosted a nuclear surety staff assistance visit. In December, the wing plans an operational readiness exercise in preparation for
Oct. 21, 2010 Be a proud ambassador Many of you have deployed or been stationed overseas and had the unique opportunity to experience the cultures of various countries. Maybe you've had a day off in Greece and toured the old Venetian Harbor or walked through the fish markets in Japan. England is peppered with eating establishments and
Oct. 21, 2010 How one Marine became a proud Airman I am a proud Airman. That statement took me a little time to appreciate and truly accept. I started my service to my country as a Marine, and most of you know from meeting Marines that they are truly proud of being Marines. In fact, they will tell you there is no such thing as an ex-Marine. I am no
Oct. 21, 2010 It wasn't supposed to be like this After parking the Air Force staff car beside the yard, the chaplain, the nurse and I got out of the car and took a moment to look over each other's service dress. We had been steeling ourselves for this moment most of the afternoon. As a death notification team, it was our job to inform a newly