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  • 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron aircrew honor fallen Airman

    Editor's Note: Captains "Carp", "SIS," and "Salami" also contributed to this article. The crew wishes to only use their rank and call signs, not their full names.The 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron arrived in Southwest Asia in July. As one of the youngest members of the squadron, I found myself

  • Enlisted milestones observed as Air Force turns 62

    Happy Birthday Air Force! Our service is now 62 years old as of just a few days ago. For 62 years, Airmen have defended America's skies, brought the fight to enemies abroad and have secured our Nation's freedom with honor, sacrifice and valor. I want to take this opportunity to shed some light on

  • Patriotism in and out of uniform

    When the national anthem plays at a baseball game or a color guard passes by during a parade with the United States flag unfurled; men, women, and children stand and place their hands over their hearts and servicemembers in uniform snap to attention and render a sharp salute. But how do

  • What is leadership?

    Sixteen years ago I stood on the parade ground at the Medina Annex on Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, anxiously waiting to accept my commission as a brand new second lieutenant. Moments before my uncle asked me to raise my right hand, he pulled me aside and said "Matt, in a few minutes you're going

  • Area Defense Counsel your advocate in times of need

    You've seen our photos. You've read the posters which state, "The Area Defense Counsel works for you, not the command." But who are we? And what do we do? As you might've guessed, we're active duty attorneys and paralegals. But unlike the professionals at the base legal office, we don't work for the

  • Mowing the lawn

    I hated mowing the lawn. It was so boring, so mundane and it always needed to be done whenever my favorite television shows were on. Of course I rushed through it. I didn't care that by zipping around my parents' yard like a madman on a tractor I was actually pulling the grass up, instead of cutting

  • Where did the time go?

    A college professor once told me the attention span of the average American was 30 minutes, roughly the length of a sitcom. This left me wondering what happened to a person's ability to sit still and focus on one thing at a time. What happened to taking some time and relaxing with a good book?

  • What's your emotional quotient?

    Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, Air Force Office Qualifying Test, Promotion Fitness Examination, Skills Knowledge Test--the Air Force is just as interested in test scores to pick its best as colleges are with using SATs and Graduate Record Examinations to pick the most promising

  • Breaking the barrier -- Learning language builds relationships abroad

    A deployed location can bring many linguistic challenges, even if the job does not require regular interaction with non-native English speakers. My current deployment has been ripe with examples of linguistic challenges. Many of these challenges could be easily disregarded without any impact on the

  • Lessons learned from a minor motorcycle incident

    As riders flock to the 69th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Aug. 3 through Aug.9, it's important for Ellsworth riders to remember how even small motorcycle incidents can lead to big lessons. My incident, though not life altering, was still significant. It happened recently as I started a seemingly