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  • Meet the new commander

    Col. Brian N. Smith assumed command of the 6th Operations Group May 14. He took time out of his day to introduce himself to the MacDill Air Force Base community and answered a few questions from the Thunderbolt:Thunderbolt: What do you expect of the Airmen under your command?Smith: I expect the team

  • How do we balance it all?

    I was speaking to a group of company grade officers recently and one of them asked, "How do you balance it all?"He knew that I had a very busy job with a lot of demands on my time. He also knew that I had a family and, quite possibly, some personal interests as well. How do I balance it all? The

  • Resilience through developing a ‘culture of character’

    As hurricane season approaches, we are reminded of the need to be prepared to take on the possibility of a disaster. Living in Florida we have become accustomed to the threat of severe weather brewing in the Gulf Coast of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean.Despite the uncertainty a storm system brings to

  • Leadership style: Be true to yourself

    As we each develop our own leadership style, we often try to emulate those we view as successful leaders. After all, if their leadership style worked for them, it should work for you, right? Not necessarily.We all have different personalities, and our leadership style needs to fit our personality.

  • When did you learn your core values?

    Next month will mark my 24th year in the Air Force and this has given me reason to pause and reflect on my time in uniform. Many things have changed since I graduated college and took my oath to support and defend. Uniforms have gone through several iterations during that time. Airmen were still

  • There I was...: Of close calls and the value of training

    There I was on my first deployment as an aircraft commander. My goal was to keep my head down, fly a lot and do everything I could to not get noticed. I wanted to successfully fly the missions that were assigned to my crew and me, while not bringing attention to myself for being the new guy or the

  • Galvanize

    It's time for us to galvanize. These are the redundant words of my favorite running tune. The true definition of the word galvanize involves a chemical-electroplating of steel or iron with zinc to make it ultimately corrosion proof.My interpretation is simply to come together to become stronger. On

  • 'Innocent until proven . . .'

    Guilty?We've all seen the media lately - the news stories, the articles, the speeches and even a movie regarding sexual assault in the military. The recent awareness campaign has served to remind us all that sexual assault in the military should not be tolerated.Let me be clear up front, no one is

  • Leadership starts with why

    I recently had the unique privilege to spend time listening to and talking with Simon Sinek, author of the 2012 Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force's Reading List book, "Start with Why." If you have not heard him speak, read this book, or perhaps watched his technology, entertainment and design

  • Back to nutritional basics

    I was watching a commercial on TV the other day, advertising the virtues of one of those ubiquitous energy drinks. The gist of the commercial was, that the little bottle contained all the micronutrients (in the form of a couple vitamins) and caffeine one needed to fuel your body for several hours.