Commentary Search

  • Are you part of the solution?

    As our Air Force, military, and nation make the transition from continuous armed conflict to a time of reduced ops tempo, shrinking budgets, and reduced manpower it is clear that the environment we have become accustomed to is rapidly changing. Many of our senior leaders have challenged us to adapt

  • America's Military, the Arm of Freedom.

    On September 11, 2001 I was enjoying a book on my bunk during a "down day" on my first deployment as a KC-135 crewmember to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia. In the middle of my page, I heard a commotion in the common area. An aircraft had just crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade

  • Don't let slip ups distract, focus on good

    As I come to the end of my term as commander for 60th Surgical Operations Squadron and prepare for my retirement, it's a good time to reflect back on the last couple of years. This has been my first real command position. I've served as a flight commander for several years and have served as deputy

  • Shoot for the STARS

    I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the 927th Air Refueling Wing for the great change of command ceremony and the warm and hospitable welcome to MacDill Air Force Base. It is with great pleasure and pride that I assume command of this great wing. You should be proud of the

  • There I Was...

    On Oct. 6, 2013, I started my deployment traveling journey which took me from Tampa, Florida to Norfolk, Virginia, and then on to Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan. Upon arriving at Manas AB, we were bused over to the PERSCO office where we received our in-processing briefing and instructions. I spent

  • Making Time for Your Airmen

    Editor's note: Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Mazzone is now the 2nd Bomb Wing command chief, Barksdale Air Force Base, La.No matter how often somebody states that time goes quickly, and to make the most of the time you have, generally speaking people tend not to consider those statements with much

  • Flightlines Submission: Analog Leadership in a Digital World

    In today's military, every service member is a leader, and we all live in a "digital world." Look around any gathering of people; most of us are online with some form of computer or electronic device the majority of time we are awake. At home station or deployed, portable electronic devices and

  • There I Was...

    There I was...making a mad dash with my co-pilot to the dining facility to grab food for a mission with an unknown duration. We had just been alerted and told to standby for our take-off time. This wasn't my first time being deployed to The Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan; I had been there

  • Choices

    Each day we make choices. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross states, "I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime." In making decisions about my own career and family planning, I have been reflecting on

  • There I Was...MacDill Airman 'thankful' for experience

    I was fortunate enough to be afforded the opportunity to join my brothers and sisters in the Middle East less than a year after I graduated basic training. Eight months after arriving at MacDill, I was not only anxious and excited, but confident in the training I had received early in my career;