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  • Is blood thicker than water?

    "Blood is thicker than water," I grew up hearing this all my life in reference to family.What exactly does this mean?For me it means that your biological relatives are going to be there for you no matter what, but in my life I have realized that blood is just something that runs through your veins.

  • Cautious to confident

    I remember one day in seventh grade, my teacher changed the seating chart. The girl next to me, who I had other classes with before, leaned over and whispered, "are you new?"Of course I was aware of how quiet and painstakingly shy I was. I never raised my hand to answer a question, and people would

  • WWII West Point grad's perspective on terrorism, ISIL

    With the last surviving members of World War II averaging in their mid-nineties, I often wonder what thoughts these heroes may have about the evolution of war since the 1940s and the rise in terrorism.In the 70 years since WWII, America has fought in multiple wars and operations. It's safe to say

  • Being Thankful

    Team MacDill,As you prepare plans to gather with family and friends and celebrate this holiday season, I encourage you to reflect on how much we can be thankful for. Holly and I appreciate the sacrifices you and your loved ones continue to make for our Air Force and your continued service and

  • What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

    As a young smart aleck, when people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my favorite response was, "A firetruck." I enjoyed the reactions I would get from that answer. Despite that joking response, I recognized the importance of the question and how much the answer could influence the

  • There I Was...

    There I was deployed to Jalalabad, Afghanistan for 329 days.This was not my first deployment but it was my first deployment to Afghanistan. I deployed to Afghanistan as an Air Advisor to the Afghan Air Force. My job was to advise the Afghan Air Force on basic aviation maintenance, supply and

  • Practicing and embracing integrity reveals the big picture

    Every day, Airmen on this base generate and enable airpower that has impact far beyond the gates. Some see this impact directly from the air; many wait to hear about it in the news, on metric slides, or in a story from the commander or social media. Some Airmen have a good understanding of how their

  • Leadership is crucial

    Leadership is crucial at all levels of the organization especially in a squadron as diverse as the 6th Force Support Squadron with 63 Air Force Specialty Codes, 60 buildings and nearly 600 employees.Each Airman not only plays an integral role in being a member of the team, but also in building the

  • There I Was...Adjusting To My First Deployment

    So there I was....Standing at my desk when I received a message that Senior Master Sgt. Smith, our former squadron superintendent, was looking for me. I immediately walked back to the command section where he sat and knocked on his door. "Come on in, have a seat," he said. I sat down, nervously, not

  • Sooo... What Are You Reading?

    "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." - Ray BradburyI'm a book nerd.There... I said it.I've always enjoyed a good book and many times perhaps made some questionable decisions about the times that I've chosen to read books (My wife claims I read six books