COMMENTARY SEARCH

  • Stepping into 2013

    As we open up on what I hope to be a terrific 2013, I'd like to start it off with a heartfelt thank you to everyone here at Luke Air Force Base. I'm so grateful for our talented and dedicated Airmen -- enlisted, officers and civilian -- who work hard each and every day to make the mission come

  • Life experience leaves lasting impression

    Easter vacation had begun, I had a good 6th grade term report card in hand and my mind was filled with multiple ideas of how I would use the forthcoming week of freedom as I walked home from school. Mom had told me she would be off doing errands, and I was to come straight home. I would be alone and

  • Leadership: Matter of ABCs

    Leadership, depending on who you ask, can have many definitions. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines leadership as: "1. the office or position of a leader; 2. capacity to lead; and 3. the act or an instance of leading." Wikipedia defines leadership as "organizing a group of people to achieve a common

  • Knowing ‘why’ powerful motivator

    Recently I've been making my way through a book called "Start With Why" by Simon Sinek who believes absolutely in the motivating power of the people you lead knowing the why of what they're asked to do. Although this book and the majority of the analogies within are business centric, the message

  • Leaving comfort zone deals with doldrums

    Do you feel stagnant in your job and don't know what to do, or do you just have that fear of something new? You will never know how things will turn out until you make that move and take a step. We tend to not want to venture beyond our comfort zone; however, if we allow ourselves to stay there, we

  • Learning to lead comes from observing good, bad styles

    One day, one of my Airmen asked me a question, "How do you know how to lead?" My initial thought was to tell him to go watch the movie "Office Space" (one of my favorite movies). However, this simple question really made me think. Let me frame this from my perspective.I took command of the 56th

  • CSAF reading list worthwhile

    Truth be told, it took me a few years of active-duty service before I fully realized what the "Chief of Staff Reading List" entailed. Like many, I heard the term thrown around, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I realized it was a relatively short list of books recommended each year by the

  • Leaders avoid holding to bad decisions

    Don't let YOU get in the way of YOU making the right decision, because ... it's not about YOU! What do I mean by this? Have you ever knowingly stuck with a bad decision because you made the decision? Or struggled over a decision worrying about what others will think of you?Everyone has decisions to

  • Are you ‘that guy?’

    Recently the Defense Department sponsored an ad campaign to show how binge drinking can make you look, well ... pretty stupid. It's titled, "That Guy," where images of young people are taken in compromising positions (drawings on face, sleeping on toilets, etc.) to show people it isn't cool to be

  • Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer

    It finally dipped below 90 degrees recently and many of us know what that means -- fall is upon us in the Valley, and the holidays and even cooler temperatures are just around the corner. The next few months will bring parties, family visits, vacations, food, and bowl games. But not everyone has a