• Enjoy Labor Day holiday weekend

    With a successful Operational Readiness Inspection in our rear view mirror, Team Vance has one more hurdle to overcome to make it a truly "outstanding" summer. The long Labor Day weekend is the last major summer holiday and marks the end of our 101 Critical Days safety campaign. Historically, this

  • Take care of your 'horses' now that inspection is complete

    The cowboy philosopher and poet "Texas" Bix Bender wrote, "When you git to where your goin' the first thing to do is take care of the horse you rode in on." As we bask in the glow of an Operational Readiness Inspection completed, we should ponder those words. In the last Chief of Staff Unit Climate

  • Readiness inspection complete -- Celebrate success, stay focused

    Congratulations Team Vance on a job very well done! Your months of preparation and hard work have paid off, and now the rest of the Air Force knows what we already knew; the men and women of Vance Air Force Base get the job done, they do it safely with precision and excellence every day. I knew that

  • ORI in home stretch

    We're heading down the home stretch of the Air Education and Training Command's Operational Readiness Inspection of Vance Air Force Base. I am very proud of Team Vance and the efforts you demonstrated while being interviewed, probed, questioned and studied by the command's toughest inspectors. We've

  • Reinforce behaviors during lesson

    A year and a half ago while living in Idaho, my wife and I went to a horse auction held by the Bureau of Land Management. This was one of those auctions where they sell wild mustangs that were recently rounded up from the desert. Already owning two horses, we certainly didn't need a third,

  • ORI team -- we're ready

    It's time! On behalf of Team Vance, I'd like to welcome Col.Victor Hnatiuk and the Air Education and Training Command Operational Readiness Inspection team to Enid, America. If you don't already know why we call it Enid, America, I guarantee you will when you leave. We're happy to have you here at

  • Redirect on risk decision making -- Break chain of tragedy

    Congratulations Team Vance on another hard-earned Friday! Hard to believe three months have already passed since my arrival on station. This is my second tour at Vance, and it's great to be back among the finest professionals and friendliest folks in America. During the first 68 days of "Summer

  • Put on 'game face' for inspectors

    Team Vance, there are 10 days remaining before we strut our stuff for the Operational Readiness Inspection team. Our ORI Preparation Team of Lt. Col. David Marshall, Maj. Stephen Mollick and Capt. Craig Lowery did the advance work and provided volumes of data and information to the IG inspectors.

  • Mentor, protege relationships benefit personal, professional lives

    Joey: In my spare time, I read to the blind. And I'm also a mento, for kids. Interviewer: A mento? Joey: You know, a mento. A role-model. Interviewer: A mento. Like the candy? Joey: As a matter of fact, I do. -- Friends, NBC-TV, Episode 8-19 In the above interchange from the Friends episode,

  • Effort towards goals of today prepares for GWOT tomorrow

    Many of our activities and programs may seem like efforts to meet short-term goals when looked at on the surface, like preparing for next month's Operational Readiness Inspection. However, when you change your focus to the bigger picture, it's easy to see how these short-term goals are integral in