Commentary Search

  • Leadership development

    Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing. - Warren Bennis, Ph.D. "On Becoming a Leader"It's easy to define the qualities or skills of good leadership, but actually practicing good leadership is not quite as simple. It takes awareness of not only what

  • From the trenches

    First of all, thanks for all the work you (our Airmen) have invested over the last two months to raise our combat capability. We've talked extensively about how important it is to stay proficient in a wide array of combat skill sets, even beyond what we're already using effectively overseas today.

  • Command Message: Spouse Appreciation Day

    Military Spouse Appreciation day is, first and foremost, an opportunity to thank our spouses for their service and their sacrifice. We're encouraging them to come out and take a relaxing day with us to find out more about what the wing does, what their unit does, and what individual spouses do, and

  • Don't pass the buck

    Accountability is a fundamental ingredient for leaders at all levels of an organization. It is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions." The Air Force does not have a standardized definition for

  • Combat Legacy

    April 18, 1942 and Oct. 7, 2001 are two prominent dates I will never forget. The first is the date of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo during World War II. The second is the date of the initial strikes of Operation Enduring Freedom. Unique and special to these two events are the involvement of the 34th

  • Building morale and esprit de corps

    Throughout my career, I have had the honor to serve on over 16 different teams with as many different missions. Each one of those experiences provided me with a different perspective in regards to morale and esprit de corps. Over the years, I have come to realize it makes little difference whether

  • Thank a TRICARE Doctor for National Doctors’ Day

    They answered the higher calling to serve those who serve our Nation. They go above and beyond the Hippocratic Oath, just from their desire to fulfill a greater need. They are heroes serving heroes.They are our TRICARE doctors.March 30 is National Doctors' Day. A day the Ellsworth community uses to

  • TRICARE tools tame tax time

    Love it or hate it, there's no denying it: tax season is here. People inevitably find themselves digging through piles of paper looking for last year's forms and receipts. There's a better way - TRICARE West Region beneficiaries can find TRICARE out-of-pocket costs online through their secure

  • Next steps for Fox Meadow / Dakota Ridge

    We've been talking a lot about all the changes on the horizon in military family housing over the next couple of years. The first major change is now coming into view--Sept. 30, the 190 houses in Fox Meadow, also known as Dakota Ridge, return to private control. These homes were never owned by the

  • Finding passion

    My father gave me two pieces of advice before I left for Basic Military Training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.The first was, "Never forget where you came from."At the time I didn't really understand what he meant. However, over the next 8 1/2 weeks of BMT I heard the same phrase over and over