Commentary Search

  • 'Every dollar counts' challenge

    Did you get the email from the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, Gen. Larry O. Spencer, about Airmen Powered by Innovation? Check it out! The Air Force is looking for Airmen of all ranks to find ways we can cut costs, and, as our Vice Chief says, "better fly, fight and win."While finding cost-saving

  • ‘Do to others…’

    If you have been following the news recently, you might have read or heard the stories of Audrie Pott - a 15-year-old California girl who was allegedly raped by three fellow high school students last September - and Rehtaeh Parsons, a 17-year-old from Nova Scotia who was also allegedly sexually

  • Reflections from the outgoing SARC

    If you weren't aware, April is a busy month for increasing our awareness of serious social issues - National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Alcohol Awareness Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. As I considered how all these serious social ills bleed into each other, I contemplated this quote by

  • Even though I work in safety...

    Editor's note: This commentary first appeared in the Winter 2012 Air Scoop magazine, a publication of the United States Air Forces Europe Safety office.   Do you plan to have a mishap when performing your daily activities? I sure don't have that talent or clairvoyance... do you? That is why I not

  • Sequestration is a big deal, so are you

    As you know, budget cuts went into effect March 1. Across the command we took action to help manage the impact and to prepare for a worst-case scenario. We are in the process of cutting non-mission critical travel, base maintenance contracts, and facility projects, and we are anticipating steep cuts

  • Watch your mouth!

    Finance. Comptroller squadron. Whatever you want to call them, they are probably one of the most loved and hated functions in the Air Force. When things are going well with our pay and allowances, we have good thoughts about our financial gurus. But when something goes wrong, it's a different story!

  • Kicking the habit

    I've had a number of habits in my life, but none of them have been as sneaky and difficult to get rid of as smoking. This habit was introduced to me 16 years ago -- I am 26 years old now. Out of all the crazy things I did as a kid, this was by far the worst. In the years that followed I continued to

  • Sequestration: How USAFE-AFAFRICA may be affected

    As we approach the automatic budget cuts slated to go into effect on March 1, I would like to share some of my thoughts on how our command may be affected and how we will respond. Our outstanding team of resource managers has tirelessly planned for these cuts, and we are prepared to implement them

  • Twenty years of strategy

    As a young boy I was captured by strategy, whether it was facing off in a game of chess or constructing battle strategies with my brother using toy soldiers. At the time I didn't think anything of it; we were just trying to have fun. Looking back, those games geared my mind toward strategic thinking

  • Red

    You could say that my Air Force career has revolved around a red pen since I joined in July of 2004. I grew up in the world of aircraft maintenance as an Electrical and Environmental Systems specialist, always with a "red" stuck in my sleeve in order to "break" an aircraft with a crimson "X." Now,