• Talking with the boss about you

    One of the most awkward conversations we have is telling the boss what we want to do in life, how we want to serve, and what our goals are. Having counseled hundreds of officers over the years on career development, I've seen the same thing over and over. The member sits down, fidgets, looks at me,

  • Lorenz on Leadership: Creating candor

    If you ever have the chance to observe a flight debrief after a training sortie, you should jump at the chance. You will witness something special. In the debrief, everyone makes constructive comments -- positive and negative -- regardless of their position or rank. If the flight lead did something

  • Take care of yourself; take care of each other; take care of this place

    My assignment prior to coming to Vance AFB was in San Antonio, Texas, where my son attended Holmes High School. There were three lines on the school marquee -- Take care of yourself; take care of each other; take care of this place. I think these meaningful words can easily define the Air Force way

  • Building relationships, friendships that last forever

    This commentary will be my last as this summer I head off to my next assignment at Los Angeles Air Force Base in sunny southern California. With that and the unit compliance inspection now in our rear-view mirror, it seemed like a good time to reflect on this latest stage of my military career and

  • In the Line of Duty

    It's a true honor to serve as the vice commander of this great command -- the First Command. I'm associated with world class professionals focused on our mission everywhere I go. But there is one drawback to the position: I chair the reviews for all the fatalities within Air Education and Training

  • Heritage is important to the mission

    Heritage is an important part of any squadron's culture and mission. The quote from an unknown author, "In order to know where you're going, you must first know where you have been," inspires the idea that we all must learn about our unit's heritage to fully embrace the impact of our present

  • Thanks for your hard work, enthusiasm, great attitude

    Team Vance,Thank you for the months of hard work in preparation for our unit compliance inspection -- your enthusiasm and great attitude shine brightly every day, but have been particularly impressive these past few weeks. There is no doubt that all of you are helping accomplish our mission daily.

  • Building a new Vance – one project at a time

    What's up with all this construction? There has never been this much construction at Vance since World War II. It's very exciting to see new buildings and facilities go up. It's totally a morale booster to be able to work in a new facility. I want to reflect on where we've come in the last year and

  • Your AFAF contribution helps Airmen in need

    (The 2009 Air Force Assistance Fund campaign at Vance runs from March 9 through April 17. The Air Force Aid Society is one of four organizations that receive support from AFAF.)It is more blessed to give than to receive. Comedian Bob Hope once said, "If you haven't got charity in your heart, you

  • Inspections 101 -- Preparation is the key

    Less than two weeks to go before the Inspector General's team rolls into town for our Unit Compliance Inspection. For those of us in the military, inspections are comparable to the College National Championships, World Series or Super Bowl in the sports arena.Many of us are putting the finishing