Work, family balance critical to mission success

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Doug Miller
  • 61st Fighter Squadron Commander
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The warriors assigned to Luke -- Airmen, civilians, active duty and Reservists -- have the distinct honor of defending our great nation. Our mission is vital and accomplishing it comes at no small price in blood, sweat and tears. We earn every bit of the compensation our country gives us, both in respect and money, but we must make sure we balance thedemands of the mission with our family and personal time.

Just as we focus on learning our job and efficiently achieving it, we must also focus on spending quality time during our off-duty hours with those most important to us. Mental and emotional health, just as physical and professional preparation, keeps us sharp and ready to execute when called upon. Time is precious; enjoy the here and now and don't waste today wishing for the next assignment or languishing in the past. One of the best assignments in the Air Force to achieve that balance in lifeis here at Luke.

Assignments in Air Education and Training Command can offer incredible opportunities for both rewarding duty and satisfying free time. As Gen. William Looney, commander
of AETC, has stated, AETC is the first command and the command of choice. It not only introduces every Airman to the Air Force way of life, it also offers the men and women
that serve in it, and their families, a stable environment to accomplish the mission and enjoy their free time.

Those of us at Luke are blessed in multiple ways -- living in the greatest country in the world, being assigned to a dynamic and challenging command like AETC and living in
a spectacular place like the Valley of the Sun.

The greater Phoenix area offers a vast amount of social, recreational and entertainment opportunities. Basking in 325 days of sunshine a year, the local area has something for everybody -- fantastic hiking, mountain and road biking, four professional sports team, worldclass golf, unlimited restaurants and shopping, natural beauty from the mountains and hills ringing the valley and the forbidding desert, and all of it wrapped in great
communities to live and raise our children.

The state of Arizona has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world starting with the Grand Canyon but so much beyond that -- Tombstone, the Mogollon Rim, Lake Havasu, the list is nearly endless. Luke's own Fort Tuthill is an amazing getaway to the mountains, only an hour and a half away and with the best prices around. The bottom line is that an assignment to Luke offers so much-- personally and professionally -- that we need to take a moment to reflect on our good fortune, take advantage of the opportunities all around us and enjoy.

Enjoy each and every day. Seize the moment and make the most of what you have right now, because an assignment to Luke can be as rich and rewarding as you make it.
The dedication to the mission, our Air Force and America displayed by each of you is magnificent and I am proud to be a part of the men and women that make up Team Thunderbolt.