HomeNewsCommentaries

Commentary Search

  • Deployment -- It is what you make of it

    Since joining the Air Force, I have often heard the saying, “it is what you make of it.” The base is what you make of it. The job is what you make of it. And most recently, a deployment is what you make of it.
  • Lt Col Perry

    Seen it done before (3 of 3) - Pride

    The day was bone chilling with a foot of snow. A three-day-old bull calf was bawling, stuck in a ravine, his leg broken. Momma cow, ears perked, was anxiously pacing and ready for any threat. Dad was there, but I was 18 years old and had seen it done before.
  • T-6

    The sound of freedom: Is it louder than usual?

    Since 1941, the roar of military aircraft in the sky has been a part of daily life in Enid, Oklahoma. An increase in the number of student pilots training at Vance Air Force Base and seasonal weather patterns may make that roar seem even louder lately.
  • Lt Col Perry

    Seen it done before (2 of 3) – Proficiency

    The day was balmy with huge cumulus clouds. My Angus show steer at the local county fair outweighed me 13:1. As I led him front and center to receive a Reserve Champion ribbon he was startled by applause from the crowd. My Dad has always said, “Hold onto that lead rope no matter what!”
  • Lt. Col. Nathan Perry, 71st Operations Support Squadron director of operations (U.S Air Force photo/ Mr. Terry Wasson)

    Seen it done before (1 of 3) - Confidence

    The day was overcast but breezy. She was struggling to survive in the cold but doing her best. I was only 10 years old but had seen it done before. Covered in mud, I pulled. She pushed. And a baby bull calf was born before my eyes.
  • T-6 inflight

    Riding a roller coaster with camera in hand

    “I doubt that plane will make me throw up. I have a strong stomach.”
  • TSgt Feliz

    Reflections on an Air Force career

    There are many reasons people enlist in the military. Whatever those reasons are, they are usually most important at the beginning. As time passes and one matures, you learn to appreciate many other aspects of military service.
  • SMSgt Drake

    Know that you are ready

    There are Vance Airmen, current and alumni, playing a critical role in the day-to-day fight to decimate ISIS.
  • Lt Col Gurry

    The secret to success in the Air Force

    What is it that makes an Airman great? It is simply showing up every day with pride and enthusiasm.
  • As required

    Building officers of character

    It is easy to get distracted from spending enough time teaching our junior officers how to lead, first themselves and then each other, in preparation to lead the subordinates for whom they will eventually be responsible.
RSS