Airmen held to higher standard

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Robert Helvie
  • 56th Security Forces Squadron
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  No matter where you go or what you do you will see standards set for your performance. These standards vary from place to place or job to job. As you may already know, military personnel are held to a higher standard than those outside the military. The Air Force standards range from something as simple as how you wear your uniform, found in AFI 36-2903, all the way to specific details in your duty position within your career field. It's every individual's choice if they want to slack, not meet standards and just do the bare minimum to meet the standards or go above and beyond to exceed the standards.

Every day we as military members are tested and evaluated based on the standards set for us by the Air Force. How you take the standards and deal with them will determine your success in the Air Force. To be known as a high-speed individual is a great status to acquire and means you are recognized as an individual that exceeds the given standards. On the other hand, to be a "dirt-bag Airman" is the exact opposite where you are clearly not putting enough effort in to at least meet the standards which could get you into trouble with your career. Then you have the middle man who slides under the radar and just does enough to get by and meet standards. It is all up to you to decide where you want to be and how hard you want to work at meeting or exceeding these standards.

In my eyes, the Air Force is a competition and everyone is competing to be better than their peers. With that being said, I found setting goals has helped me become an Airman that tries to exceed standards and be known as a high speed Airman. Ever since I found out about Senior Airman below-the-zone, that has been my short term goal in the Air Force. Goals with education, job qualifications and volunteering are some goals you can set that will help you meet or exceed Air Force standards. As you can see military standards are the foundation of everyone's career and can make or break you depending on how you meet or exceed them.