Commentary Search

  • Sexual assault convictions get published

    You should know that the Air Force now publishes sexual assault convictions on-line. Anyone can go to this website and review more than 100 sexual assault convictions from across the Air Force, to include viewing them by base. After a few minutes of reviewing the facts of these cases, you will soon

  • Never walk off the Pad

    January 10th was a Sunday evening. I was evaluating a Loading Standardization Crew (LSC) at an F-16 Wing. The crew, once certified, would act as a STAN-EVAL team, responsible for the training and certification of 12 combat certified load crews-- CERTIFIED to install live ordnance on combat-coded,

  • 'Hang on' through summer

    A friend of my father whom I have known since I was a child, I'll call him "M" here, gave me my first safety lesson when I was about 10 years old.I was standing short and skinny, in 1978, above a Class III river section with a helmet, a life jacket and a big, black truck tire inner-tube, and he

  • Changing perceptions

    The veterans of World War II and Korea set the foundation of the current Air National Guard.

  • ‘Rebluing,’ why do we say that?

    Since shortly after its birth as a separate service, American Airmen have worn the color, blue. Blue represents the sky above earth; a medium the Air Force first aimed to conquer. Blue in our uniforms, in our shield and in our official symbol is also commonly connected to loyalty and courage. Airmen

  • How and when to re-engage

     From before we step off the busses at basic military training, we are taught to submit to authority, follow directions and obey orders. In fact, our oath of enlistment specifically states we will, "obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over

  • Keep running for America

    Do you believe that running marathons can help the Air Force defeat terrorism? Across the board, the Air Force has the richest concentration of runners than most employers in the nation, maybe the world. The Total Force active duty, Reserve Command and Air National Guard's 500,000-plus service

  • Stay scared

    I'm scared. Please allow me to explain. In 1984, I entered the Air Force at the age of 17. My parents endorsed a notarized form allowing me to sign my own name and enter military service before I could legally enter into a binding contract. Arriving at Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB, Texas,

  • How to gripe

    In the classic, Steven Spielberg movie, Saving Private Ryan, Captain John H. Miller, a character played by Academy Award winning veteran, Tom Hanks, directs a wise statement to one of his soldiers. The men had been griping--to some degree or another--about their orders, the conditions, etc. Captain

  • They Walk Among Us

    Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force #5 Robert "Bob" Gaylor landed at McGhee Tyson Airport on August 2, 2011. The Paul H. Lankford Enlisted Professional Military Education Center hosted the 81-year-old former U.S. Air Force top enlisted leader for a little more than 24 hours as he dined with