• Lorenz on Leadership -- The solid foundation

    Our Air Force has more than 175,000 civilian employees spread across the globe. In fact, they make up more than 25 percent of our authorized Total Force end strength.The civilian force fills an ever-increasing role in daily mission accomplishment, especially as we've experienced personnel reductions

  • If General Washington could see us now

    Gen. George Washington was quoted, "If I was called upon to declare upon oath, whether the Militia have been most serviceable or hurtful upon the whole; I should subscribe to the latter."Not a very stirring endorsement. But as the nation has changed, so has the quality and dedication of the Militia.

  • Lorenz on Leadership -- A dynamic tradition

    Our Air Force has many traditions. Some we inherited from other services; others are more recent and will take time to fully develop. Traditions are positive things, deeply rooted in our heritage and pride. Traditions are things we don't easily give up.One of our traditions, however, isn't often

  • True leadership -- taking ownership, accepting responsibility

    U.S. Air Force Gen. Curtis E. LeMay once said that if he had to come up with one word to define leadership, it would be "responsibility."We have seen many examples of leaders taking responsibility in the Air Force during our 60 year history. Some of the most recent examples have dealt with our

  • The importance of focusing on the here and now

    "What you don't want to do is stay up at night game-planning against ghosts."That's what a highly successful football coach had to say on the eve of the national championship game when asked about his team's preparation. His point was that he couldn't allow himself or his team to worry about all of

  • My heroes have always worn uniforms

    When I hear Willie Nelson sing "My heroes have always been cowboys," I have to thank the good Lord for giving Willie an extra dose of talent. I imagine some might say Willie received more song writing talent than song singing talent.Unlike Willie, my heroes - especially my real-life heroes - have

  • Lorenz on Leadership -- A mentor's influence

    Mentors touch our lives and help shape us into the people that we are today. We value mentorship in the Air Force and both develop it in our subordinates while seeking it from our supervisors. I like to think that one cannot have enough mentors, nor can one mentor enough. I've had many through the

  • Thank you for the many blessings, friendships

    To the men and women of Team Vance, thank you for the great support you provided me and my family during my time as vice wing commander. The size of Vance allows leadership to meet and know just about everyone involved in our mission. That experience has been amazing.As I reflect on the last 20

  • Make time to get beyond the surface

    You're almost late for an important meeting. You're walking down the hall with purpose, mind focused on the preparation you didn't get around to. From the corner of your eye you notice somebody hunched over with his face in his hands.Not normal. You do a double take. He picks his head up and looks

  • Do you have a cyber security checklist?

    Last March, Gen. Stephen Lorenz, commander of the Air Education and Training Command, directed bases throughout the command to hold a network focus day specifically dedicated to covering key aspects of network security and information assurance.Here we are a year later and the message is still the