Commentary

Commentary

A tale of heroism: ‘I was just doing my job’

by Tech. Sgt. Margarita Lugo
86th Airlift Wing Equal Opportunity

My father, Fernando C. Lugo, was drafted into the Army in November 1966. After completing high school, he received a letter that said, “Greetings, you been drafted into the Army,” which included a 12 cent New York City subway token to help him report to basic training.

September 19, 2013 ×

Commentary

Why do you serve?

by Lt. Col. Tiffany Warnke
86th Civil Engineering Squadron commander

Sept. 11 was the day that changed the world forever as we saw the raw destruction and peril of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon brought into our homes via the television.

September 19, 2013 ×

Commentary

Reflect on Constitution, citizenship, 9/11

by Col. Raymond Briggs Jr.
86th Maintenance Group commander

On Wednesday, it was 4,384 days since the terror attacks of 9/11 in New York, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa. It has also been 365 days since the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. In both cases, our national response involved using military action.

September 12, 2013 ×

Commentary

Photo by Capt. Kyle McKemyU.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern Combined Federal Campaign-Overseas representative Gina Hranilovic (left) poses with newly trained representative Dijon Rolle as Rolle picks up her first box of campaign supplies during a training session Sept. 3 at Galaxy Theater.

My life as a Combined Federal Campaign unit rep

by Dijon Rolle
U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern Public Affairs

I stared at the email in my inbox with a slight mix of curiosity and alarm. I read the message again, this time aloud. Yep, I had been tasked. The email was sent to inform me that I would be serving as my unit’s designated Combined Federal Campaign-Overseas representative for this year. I wondered how much extra time this was going to take from my work schedule and most importantly, what exactly does a CFC-O rep actually do?

September 12, 2013 ×

Commentary

Perception impacts recognition

by Chief Master Sgt. JPE Dunbar
786th Civil Engineer Squadron

Many people think they can show up, do their job and that’s enough to get them recognized. Most people do their work, but only those who do it exceptionally will get noticed.

September 5, 2013 ×

Commentary

Risk reduction for sexual assault: What you should know to protect yourself

by Dr. Thomas Appel-Schumacher
U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program manager

There is a lot to be said about how blaming a victim of sexual assault is devastating to a victim. When a traumatic crime like sexual assault occurs, many questions are asked of the victim’s history and behaviors, which communicate loud and clear he or she did something terribly wrong to provoke the attack.

August 22, 2013 ×

Commentary

Culture of respect

Commentary by Brig. Gen. Patrick X. Mordente
86th Airlift Wing commander

The golden rule with relationships professionally and personally holds that respect is a reciprocal and two-way process. This rule can be a tool in the toolkit of every Airman — where we treat people with consideration and esteem and value their worth.

August 22, 2013 ×

Commentary

You get what you tolerate

by Senior Master Sgt. Michael Pelletier
76th Airlift Squadron

One of the most important things I have learned in the Air Force is to listen.

August 15, 2013 ×

Commentary

Make it happen, Airmen

by Gen. Frank Gorenc
USAFE-AFAFRICA commander

Airmen are no strangers to change. Our Air Force was born from change after an exhausting world war when nations were recovering and healing emotionally, physically and financially.

August 15, 2013 ×

Commentary

Diversity is critical for mission success

by Lt. Col. John P. Zapata
86th Communications Squadron commander

Slightly more than a decade ago, our Air Force senior leadership, recognizing a lack of diversity in the Air Force officer corps, began an effort to improve diversity.

August 8, 2013 ×