Commentary Search

  • Be a super sponsor: Take extra steps to welcome newcomers

    Those who have been associated with the military for more than a few years are familiar with many of the challenges that come with moving to a new base, making new friends, and many times helping children readjust to the area. Circumstances vary with every move, but for some, one thing is always a

  • My job is prosecuting sexual assault

    Here's a simple truth...sexual offenders reject our core values of integrity, service and excellence, in favor of following their own base, undisciplined, criminal desires. Most sexual assaults committed by Airmen are "blue on blue," or Airmen victimizing other Airmen. So in addition to rejecting

  • Transforming sexual assault prevention in the Air Force

    Air Force leadership takes sexual assault prevention very seriously and continuously works towards creating a culture where sexual assaults are eliminated. To that end, senior Air Force leaders recently participated in a Sexual Assault Prevention Summit at Andrews AFB, Maryland in the continuing

  • Does the EPR need a Bailout?

    What do enlisted performance reports, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America have in common? They suffer from bad brand name recognition. So, what should we do? Bailout our EPR system?We could rename the EPR. How about Yearly Evaluation Report, or YER? A name change has worked for some, but then again,

  • Airman considers, shares actual joy of running

    During my weekday runs, which at this point are four to six miles, I listen to music. These shorter runs pass through and near areas bustling with cars, aircraft and other day-to-day noises. Listening to music, the news or a podcast allows me to drown out these sounds. One morning, an individual

  • Critical Days of Summer are here again

    The Critical Days of Summer run now through Sept. 4. Anyone who has been around the Air Force for any length of time has heard of this annual program; but some people still ask what it is and why we have it. The Critical Days of Summer program is an intense safety campaign strongly supported by

  • A call to action: What are you about?

    Do you remember your first deployment? Maybe you anticipated it, wondering what you would see or do when you arrived, or even if you would survive. Then your time to return home drew nearer, and all you could think about was getting home, though you knew a long flight was ahead of you.For many

  • Beware of the binge

    I always enjoy starting an article with the cliché, "It's that time of year ..." It is, though. It is, in fact, that time of year to consider how you want to spend your summer.It's the time of year for barbecues, beverage-filled coolers, beaches and bouncy castles. It's time for cozies and bathing

  • Time to put on our dancing shoes - and change our EPR culture

    The second I pinned on staff sergeant I knew I could do it. I could be the NCO the Air Force wanted me to be. I could write fair enlisted performance reports and prove the naysayers in airman leadership school wrong. Sure, what we learned might "not be the way it's done in the real Air Force," but

  • Children’s Day events scheduled April 22 at Incirlik

    Although children can be frustrating from time to time, they are our hope and future. Turkey emphasizes the love, hope and future of children by proclaiming a national holiday for them. We celebrate the holiday every year on April 23, and it is officially known as National Sovereignty and Children's