Every Airman knows that “Integrity First” is the foundational pillar of our core values, and we all understand what it means.
We will always strive to do the right thing and be honest in all that
we do. I also believe integrity carries with it the idea of consistency
in how we conduct every aspect of our lives.
Recently, I took the out brief of an off-duty vehicle accident in which
two Airmen lost their lives. It was a very sad and all-too-familiar
story of Airmen who combined alcohol with reckless, high speed driving.
The result was not only their deaths, but also that of an innocent
person in a car with which they collided. In an instant, the lives of
three families were torn apart and the Air Force lost two of its Airmen.
These Airmen had been very reliable in their duty performance. However,
their propensity for binge drinking and high speed driving was well
known among their peers.
In the days before the fatal accident, one of the Airmen had engaged in
binge drinking on at least two nights that included the consumption of
fifteen or more drinks one night and in excess of twenty drinks the
next night.
Each night of binge drinking was followed by duty launching,
recovering, maintaining and repairing fighter aircraft. Since we now
know this, their peers obviously knew it as well.
This Airman had a blood alcohol level of “zero” at the scene of the
accident. He had “taken the night off” because he was worn out from
drinking the previous days, but he still died as a passenger in the car
with this deadly “band of brothers.”
The driver, who they had decided would be the designated driver,
decided not to take the night off from drinking. He was an avid driver
and active member of a national racing association who often drove too
fast for conditions in a manner that I would consider reckless.
On the night of the accident, alcohol and speed became a deadly
combination. We lost two Airmen and a civilian for absolutely no reason.
Having received this accident report, I made two observations.
One, on duty these young men were good performers carrying out critical
tasks supporting one of our most sophisticated weapons systems. But off
duty, their immaturity was deadly.
Two, the disparity between the maturity demonstrated on duty and off
duty was well-known to their fellow Airmen. These wingmen did not hold
them accountable.
An engineer might analyze a steel beam and declare that the steel has “integrity” from one end of the beam to another.
This means that the quality of the steel is consistent from one end to
the other. No portions had seams or inconsistent quality or areas that
were brittle or in any way defective. The beam has “integrity.”
Certainly none of us are perfect, but we must strive for this kind of
integrity in our lives – the kind that makes us consistently the same
person on duty and off, with our peers, our subordinates, our
supervisors and our families.
As wingmen we must also hold each other accountable as professional Airmen.
This is simply the right thing to do, and it is the only way we can
ensure that we have safe, satisfying and productive lives for
ourselves, our families, our unit, the Air Force and the Nation.
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Every Airman knows that “Integrity First” is the foundational pillar of our core values, and we all understand what it means.
We will always strive to do the right thing and be honest in all that
we do. I also believe integrity carries with it the idea of consistency
in how we conduct every aspect of our lives.
Recently, I took the out brief of an off-duty vehicle accident in which
two Airmen lost their lives. It was a very sad and all-too-familiar
story of Airmen who combined alcohol with reckless, high speed driving.
The result was not only their deaths, but also that of an innocent
person in a car with which they collided. In an instant, the lives of
three families were torn apart and the Air Force lost two of its Airmen.
These Airmen had been very reliable in their duty performance. However,
their propensity for binge drinking and high speed driving was well
known among their peers.
In the days before the fatal accident, one of the Airmen had engaged in
binge drinking on at least two nights that included the consumption of
fifteen or more drinks one night and in excess of twenty drinks the
next night.
Each night of binge drinking was followed by duty launching,
recovering, maintaining and repairing fighter aircraft. Since we now
know this, their peers obviously knew it as well.
This Airman had a blood alcohol level of “zero” at the scene of the
accident. He had “taken the night off” because he was worn out from
drinking the previous days, but he still died as a passenger in the car
with this deadly “band of brothers.”
The driver, who they had decided would be the designated driver,
decided not to take the night off from drinking. He was an avid driver
and active member of a national racing association who often drove too
fast for conditions in a manner that I would consider reckless.
On the night of the accident, alcohol and speed became a deadly
combination. We lost two Airmen and a civilian for absolutely no reason.
Having received this accident report, I made two observations.
One, on duty these young men were good performers carrying out critical
tasks supporting one of our most sophisticated weapons systems. But off
duty, their immaturity was deadly.
Two, the disparity between the maturity demonstrated on duty and off
duty was well-known to their fellow Airmen. These wingmen did not hold
them accountable.
An engineer might analyze a steel beam and declare that the steel has “integrity” from one end of the beam to another.
This means that the quality of the steel is consistent from one end to
the other. No portions had seams or inconsistent quality or areas that
were brittle or in any way defective. The beam has “integrity.”
Certainly none of us are perfect, but we must strive for this kind of
integrity in our lives – the kind that makes us consistently the same
person on duty and off, with our peers, our subordinates, our
supervisors and our families.
As wingmen we must also hold each other accountable as professional Airmen.
This is simply the right thing to do, and it is the only way we can
ensure that we have safe, satisfying and productive lives for
ourselves, our families, our unit, the Air Force and the Nation.