Commentaries

  • Cherish your spouse

    Just last week, while walking past the base chapel, I witnessed a scene that caused me to pause and reflect. I turned and watched as people, dressed in their Sunday best, flowed from the chapel doors, smiling and casually chatting. They slowly split into two lines, creating a path that led to a

  • Our own stone soup

    Sitting on my bookshelf is the children's book "Stone Soup," by Kit Schorsch. This short story centers on a Soldier returning from war when he happens upon a village. Hungry from his travels the Soldier knocks on several doors, asking the villagers if they may have some extra food. At each stop, the

  • The power to choose

    We're faced with decisions from the very first moment we wake each morning. Each day we must make decisions to get out of bed, get dressed in our uniform and come to work. We make decisions before going to sleep to set our alarm clocks so we can wake up with enough time to do all the necessary

  • Colonel Howard M. Dallman - First Airlifter to earn Air Force Cross

    Feb. 5, 1968, Vietnam, the surrounded Marine Fire Base at Khe Sanh. A C-130E, piloted by Lt. Col. Howard Dallman of the 314th Troop Carrier Wing, broke through thick cloud cover over Khe Sanh at 300 feet above ground level. Finding communications at the base inoperable, and having never landed at

  • What Does a Person in Trouble Look Like?

    Can you spot someone who is having a trying time in their life? There was a time that I would tell you I could pick them out quickly and then be able to render assistance. But the longer I live, the more I realize that people respond to stress differently, and I may not be as good as I thought at

  • Remember why you joined

    I began my Air Force career, as did a number of my fellow officers, as an enlisted Airman. The year was 1984, and a co-worker at my civilian workplace had signed up with the Navy. He was excited at the prospect of moving into a new and challenging career, at the opportunity to see other countries

  • Out of sight, out of mind

    One of the big problems with conservation of electrical energy is its invisibility. You can't see it, smell it and only notice it when it isn't there. Maybe that's part of the reason our total Entergy electric bill for this year is $6 million. That's right: six. million. dollars. That's the bad

  • Your attitude is contagious

    If your attitude is contagious, then what are people catching when they come into contact with you? Our outlook and approach to how we come across each day is totally within our control. So this week I want each of us to focus on what type of attitude we project each day. We all need to be mindful

  • Success is uncommon

    One makes thousands of decisions every day. Whether to get out of bed in the morning, to stop at the next stop sign, to do physical fitness training today, to uphold the Air Force's core values today and many more. It sounds easy right? Well that isn't always the case. The decisions an individual

  • Consider the consequences before you act

    Every day, we make thousands of decisions, most with very little conscious thought. If I asked you if you wanted to go to lunch today, you'd probably decide and answer immediately. We give other decisions, like buying a new vehicle or home, a great deal of careful deliberation. Unless it's obviously