18 Jun 2014

Layers of leadership

Remember the movie "Captain America?" The main character tried to join the Army under different names and in different cities, yet he was always denied because of his size and perceived notions about his abilities. This comic book hero eventually overcame his lack of physical attributes, and defeated the greatest threat of World War II -- Hydra.

21 May 2014

Family, mission, fun

Commander's priorities - something every Airman hears from the first day an officer assumes command of a squadron, group or wing to the day he or she relinquishes that command and another officer takes the reigns. To the average junior lieutenant or enlisted airman these priorities may seem politicized or redundant. You might think, "This

8 May 2014

"Laws of War" essential for a free country to prevail in a modern world

The Air Force flies, fights and wins in air, space, and cyberspace while complying with the laws of armed conflict. These rules are also popularly known as the "laws of war" and "international humanitarian law." Broadly speaking, the laws of war govern when a nation may use armed force and establish the rules for using that force. These laws stake

7 May 2014

Fighting obesity leads to lower healthcare costs

"Certified Healthy"In February, Joel Urdang, the Vance Health Promotion Program coordinator, and I were in Norman for an awards luncheon for schools, businesses, restaurants and the like that were "Certified Healthy Oklahoma." Vance was honored as one of these, thanks to Joel's efforts here. During the workshop the speaker talked about disease and

13 Feb 2014

America – a “Spending” culture

"Spend, Spend, Spend. It's the American Way" was the title of an article published in the New York Times in 2012. The article purported that spending is seen as a virtue in our collective, patriotic American consciousness. I am a financial counselor with the Airman and Family Readiness Center here, and I find this assessment of our culture to be

11 Feb 2014

Love has a language - five in fact

We were blind May 17, 1986 -- our wedding day. Sharon and I expressed traditional wedding vows to each other without fully understanding what we were doing.We said, "I take you," but we failed to see that "you" included our respective families of origin.We said, "To have and to hold," but we failed to see that our differences would make having and

5 Feb 2014

Force management programs -- threat or opportunity?

I started as a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1991, just as the Gulf War was wrapping up. The Air Force was about to enter a Reduction in Force.As I began my career of Air Force service I saw significant reduction to our force structure. Cadets that were nearly guaranteed a pilot training slot were told that 75 percent of them would have to

29 Jan 2014

Making today count

There are a lot of changes happening within the Air Force today as well as the continued debates in our government concerning the future of all military personnel.With debates on military benefits that range from medical care to retirement pay, and with the looming force reduction boards, it would be easy for all of us to lose focus on today and

22 Jan 2014

Vance AFSA Chapter 990 -- a year in review

What a year for Chapter 990 of the Air Force Sergeants Association at Vance.Every AFSA chapter is charged with ensuring folks know the importance of being a registered voter, the impact of effective letter writing campaigns, and just getting down in the weeds to recruit members. This chapter has done all of these, plus lead a full court press on

15 Jan 2014

Military justice – a tradition of change

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2014 brings with it several substantive changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.There are some key changes in the act. It eliminations the five-year statute of limitation for rape and sexual assault cases. Victims have the option to elect out of testifying during Article 32