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  • A checklist for successful leadership

    After serving more than 25 years in our Air Force, I have always looked forward to the opportunity to get a "peek under the hood" so to speak of what senior leaders in my wing and in the Air Force felt was important enough to write about and publish in our base papers. Some are very informative, some entertaining, and some just outright

  • There are three sides to every story

    You know the old saying "there are two sides to every story?" I believe that saying is wrong. I think there are three sides to every story; what you think happened, what I think happened and what really happened -- the "truth." Our own perceptions of situations and what was said color our version of every story. When I attended the Aircraft Mishap

  • Why leaders fail

    Benjamin Franklin once said that all of mankind falls into one of three classes - those who are movable, those who are immovable and those who move. After 21 years as a fighter pilot, air liaison officer, joint terminal attack controller, operational war planner, staff officer, commander and student - in combat and peacetime - I have directly

  • What if it were me? – A command philosophy

    Most of us are familiar with the Golden Rule that encourages individuals to treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. This ethic of reciprocity, one of four pillars upon which my command philosophy is based, inherently fosters our core values of service before self and excellence in all we do. I believe that we all too often get

  • Prescription medications: A growing trend of abuse

    As a pharmacist for over 28 years, I have witnessed the incredible value medications bring to the treatment, and sometimes cure, of a multitude of ailments and disease. Although they have improved the quality of life for millions of people, their use is certainly not without risk, as attested to by the litany of side effects reported in "speed

  • Don’t be this guy either…

    You've all seen the advertising campaign pointing out how ridiculous most people look and act when they've had a little, or a lot, to drink. Unfortunately, it doesn't take alcohol to make people do some pretty silly things, especially when it comes to some of the unique aspects of our military culture.I couldn't believe it, but I actually saw this

  • Win today’s game

    Twenty years ago I had a high school football coach tell me that you can only win the game you are playing right now. You shouldn't be concerned about the state championship at the end of the season; instead worry about doing your very best right now and build on it as the season progresses. Do your job correctly now and the wins, awards, accolades

  • Air Forces offers incentive pay for excellence...PT scores included?

    Now that I have your attention, is this fiction or fact? Would this entice you to work harder, study more or get more fit? There have been philosophical debates over the Air Force offering incentive pay for excellent fitness scores, and whether it would improve the motivation for Airmen to challenge themselves to become more fit. Recently, I asked

  • The next step in news

    Eielson Air Force Base didn't always have a paper. Before the paper, announcements were made each night over the local radio. Then, in 1952, we took the next step forward in technology and printed a paper: The Mile 26 Post. The paper allowed us to share with everyone not only the news and announcements, as the radio had done, but also include

  • Everything is interconnected

    Americans are busy. We lead busy lives, and no matter how hard we try, we never conquer our to-do lists. As a result, we don't always believe it's important to spend time following the international news. We have better things to do, right? "Facebook is more fun, and what does the unrest in Libya really have to do with my Wal-Mart shopping list
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