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Is Rank a Requirement to Lead?
I have had this debate 100’s of times throughout my career. ‘We should put the highest ranking person in that position and let them succeed or fail on their own.’ This is the best argument I have heard and think it has merit, but I still disagree. I have always felt the best person should…
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Dealing with Changes in the Air Force: Where’s My Cheese?
I remember as a young Airman being told, “The only thing constant in the Air Force is change.” The things and processes that have changed over the years is something I couldn’t quantify if I tried. However, I don’t recall ever seeing the scope of changes with which we are dealing with right now. I…
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Lessons learned from a SNCO: A guide for NCOs
Many learn to be an NCO and SNCO simply by doing. First, as a SNCO, I learned that I wasn’t just a supervisor of a handful of SSgts, SrA or A1Cs anymore; I had to learn that I was responsible for those within my entire duty section. It can be emotionally and mentally challenging, something…
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How to get Promoted (or not)
Promotion. Yep, touchy subject for some these days… Despite the effort to create a more balanced & equitable system for advancement, there are those who feel that however revolutionary the initiative was sold, the new “forced distribution” replaces an antiquated 5-tiered system with, well, you guessed it, another 5-tiered system. “Stop calling it a 3,…
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Tired of Only Putting Out the Daily Fires?
Not too long ago, I worked for one of those leaders and mentors that we all dream of having. He would push my limits of leadership and knew how to ensure my areas of weakness were being developed. He gave me just the right amount of leash to let me make tough decisions, but not…
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Bullet Writing… For Dummies (like me)
Ah, the art of bullet writing. From the very first Air Force evaluation in the wonder years of the late 1940’s to today’s latest EPR form, many have been bested by the arduous task of taking life itself, amplifying it’s quintessence, whittling large narratives and compartmentalizing facts into… A single; three part bullet–with an impact…
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“You are just Lucky!”
At many points throughout my career, people have told me how I was just lucky and, honestly, I have thought this about others too. Although I am not claiming to be able to explain away the luck phenomena completely, I am going to discuss what is known as the luck factor. Read on if you…
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What Causes Conflict?
“Can we…can we all just get along?” If you were around in the early 90’s, you might remember the press conference where Rodney King spoke these famous words trying to motivate the stoppage of the L.A. riots. This was a huge statement, because the riots were in support of him. What would drive a community…
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FITS: Faith In The System
“You have got to have faith in the system, Joey,” was something told to me a few occasions as a young NCO/SNCO. The little blue book (core values book) that used to circulate along with the little brown book had mentioned this phrase under the section for Service Before Self. To be honest, I always…
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After the Air Force: Career Planning
A few years back I had applied for the TERA (15-year retirement) program the Air Force was offering in order to draw down the force. The numbers did not work in my favor and I was not selected, but I learned a valuable lesson: I was not as marketable as I thought! With the experience…
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