One of the most important things I have learned in the Air Force is to listen. Listen to those all around you — peers, supervisors and subordinates. Over the course of my career, I have listened to many people, one of which is a wise old chief master sergeant.
One day while discussing an upcoming ceremony, some people started listing the need for spare formation members in case someone was to “fall out.” Chief immediately spoke up and said, we don’t need any spares, because you get what you tolerate.
I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by this, and lucky for me, Chief never missed an opportunity to explain his thoughts. He asked the question, “Why do people fall out?” We all answered with the standard list; people lock their knees, they aren’t hydrated, it’s hot; the list goes on. He answered all these with logic. Before every event including practices, we consistently remind people to hydrate, wiggle your toes, keep your mind in the event and continually refocus your vision not locking on a single point.
Why then, with all this information and preparation, do we still need spares? Ceremonies even go so far as to have medical services standing by “just in case.” In his words, we were planning a self-fulfilling prophecy. Where else in our military do we plan to fail to this degree, and when is it acceptable that our Airmen do it? Having been a member of the Presidential Honor Guard at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., I take great pride in ceremonies.
When I replay the countless ceremonies where my fellow Guardsmen and I stood on the White House lawn, at The Pentagon and The Tomb of The Unknown, I cannot remember a single time when the officer in charge, the guidon bearer, NCO in charge, flag team, first sergeant or the myriad other key positions fell out. Why? I ask myself — because we get what we tolerate.
These individuals are no more superhuman or capable of standing for long periods than those who comprise the flight formations.
These individuals simply won’t tolerate the thought of falling out, and their desire to perform their duties to the best of their abilities is what matters.
Each of these people is driven by self-motivation to uphold the standards and expectations levied upon them. Somewhere between holding ourselves and those around us accountable, the standard has become convoluted. Why do we hold ourselves to one standard and our subordinates and peers to another?
The concept of you get what you tolerate goes far beyond the ceremony.
How many of us have watched someone walk by when they aren’t wearing the uniform according to regulations and said nothing? Watch and see how many stroll past trash in their work center, The Exchange or commissary. What is said to those who arrive to work late or leave early? Have you complained about the evaluation system, but still wrote firewall five enlisted performance reports on those you didn’t believe truly deserved it? Continue to ignore these types
of things, and you will always get what you tolerate.
I am thankful for the opportunities to listen to wise old chiefs like Chief MSgt. Kevin Slater. I’m sure many of us have been presented with countless nuggets of wisdom such as this throughout our careers. Listening to others is a great way to develop and learn. In sharing one of the lessons presented to me; “you get what you tolerate,” will you listen?
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One of the most important things I have learned in the Air Force is to listen. Listen to those all around you — peers, supervisors and subordinates. Over the course of my career, I have listened to many people, one of which is a wise old chief master sergeant.
One day while discussing an upcoming ceremony, some people started listing the need for spare formation members in case someone was to “fall out.” Chief immediately spoke up and said, we don’t need any spares, because you get what you tolerate.
I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by this, and lucky for me, Chief never missed an opportunity to explain his thoughts. He asked the question, “Why do people fall out?” We all answered with the standard list; people lock their knees, they aren’t hydrated, it’s hot; the list goes on. He answered all these with logic. Before every event including practices, we consistently remind people to hydrate, wiggle your toes, keep your mind in the event and continually refocus your vision not locking on a single point.
Why then, with all this information and preparation, do we still need spares? Ceremonies even go so far as to have medical services standing by “just in case.” In his words, we were planning a self-fulfilling prophecy. Where else in our military do we plan to fail to this degree, and when is it acceptable that our Airmen do it? Having been a member of the Presidential Honor Guard at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., I take great pride in ceremonies.
When I replay the countless ceremonies where my fellow Guardsmen and I stood on the White House lawn, at The Pentagon and The Tomb of The Unknown, I cannot remember a single time when the officer in charge, the guidon bearer, NCO in charge, flag team, first sergeant or the myriad other key positions fell out. Why? I ask myself — because we get what we tolerate.
These individuals are no more superhuman or capable of standing for long periods than those who comprise the flight formations.
These individuals simply won’t tolerate the thought of falling out, and their desire to perform their duties to the best of their abilities is what matters.
Each of these people is driven by self-motivation to uphold the standards and expectations levied upon them. Somewhere between holding ourselves and those around us accountable, the standard has become convoluted. Why do we hold ourselves to one standard and our subordinates and peers to another?
The concept of you get what you tolerate goes far beyond the ceremony.
How many of us have watched someone walk by when they aren’t wearing the uniform according to regulations and said nothing? Watch and see how many stroll past trash in their work center, The Exchange or commissary. What is said to those who arrive to work late or leave early? Have you complained about the evaluation system, but still wrote firewall five enlisted performance reports on those you didn’t believe truly deserved it? Continue to ignore these types
of things, and you will always get what you tolerate.
I am thankful for the opportunities to listen to wise old chiefs like Chief MSgt. Kevin Slater. I’m sure many of us have been presented with countless nuggets of wisdom such as this throughout our careers. Listening to others is a great way to develop and learn. In sharing one of the lessons presented to me; “you get what you tolerate,” will you listen?