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  • A day or two (or three)…in the life of the Command Chief…

    Well, I am finally back from a long, hard road trip. Well, maybe not so hard, just long. As I return after a few weeks away, it is always amazing to see how each and every one of you just keeps the machine we know as Fairchild going. With that said, I want to take a minute to tell you about what I

  • It’s my pleasure!

    Several years ago, I was browsing in a popular electronics store in uniform on my way home from work when a strange man passing by mumbled something my direction and gave me an unusual glance. At the time, my husband and daughter were in different departments of the store and I felt the urge to

  • Live a healthy life, despite the stress

    "True greatness comes when you're tested," President Franklin Roosevelt said during the Second World War, and it still holds true today. Our Airmen are being tested on a daily basis, and greatness is an adjective they have earned. As we continue the eighth year fighting the Global War on Terrorism,

  • Defending America: Ordinary men and women doing the extraordinary

    Harry S. Truman was President from 1945 to 1953 and, in my view, was as great a President as Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR and Regan. Known as "Harry" to a great many Americans, he was an 'ordinary' man from Missouri who did a great many things for our country -- ordinary just like the men and

  • Ethics of March Madness

    Who is going drain the three at the buzzer? Which team will be Cinderella this year? How many times will Dick Vitale shout "Baby" during any given telecast? Like many of you, I love March - not so much for the continued snow storms but for the NCAA Basketball Championships. Like many of you I will

  • Small steps led to great leaps for Women's History

    When we in the Air Force think of Women's History Month, we generally tend to think of the obvious pioneers in aviation such as Amelia Earhart, the Women's Air Corps and the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, and the first female pilots. But what about those who made it possible for even them to break the

  • Adapting to change, moving forward

    Team Fairchild, As I looked around our wing, Air Force and Nation, I see a common theme which most recently came to the forefront when talking with our Airman Leadership School class. I heard myself saying the word "change" an awful lot...so I thought why is that? It becomes clear that 'change' is

  • Remember that balance is key

    As we enjoy our holidays and head into the New Year, I like to take time out to think about what I want to achieve in the coming year. For me and for the wing, balance is what I've come up with. We often get into situations when the mission's operations tempo makes us unbalanced. For example, are we

  • Tankers: From a Question Mark to Today’s Fight

    Air refueling operations continue to be amazing aerial feats, especially for people who witness the process for the first time. As mobility Airmen, we consider it simply part of what we do but, in reality, it is quite remarkable to have two aircraft meeting less than 50 feet apart at more than

  • The first 90 days: A new commander’s perspective

    In preparation for my first command, I talked to former bosses and current mentors and tried to meld my own experiences growing up as a junior Security Forces officer with theirs. One thing was abundantly clear from all three sources - despite my best efforts, I wouldn't be prepared for everything.