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  • Lemonade and boxing: two approaches to tough times

    We have all heard the old adage, "when life serves you lemons, make lemonade." While this is easier said than done, it is sometimes the best approach. We face very difficult times, and I am not here to debate how we got here or even the best approach to getting out of the situation. We can leave

  • A computer outage and an epiphany

    I sat down at my desk last Monday expecting to start my week just like any other -- checking my calendar, sorting through emails and making a list of upcoming tasks. It was going to be another busy week, so I was eager to get a head start.As I inserted my common access card into my keyboard and

  • Resiliency combats challenges

    The challenges faced by Airmen are many. Beyond the immediate physical threats generated by deployments, our Airmen must deal with the mental and social effects of being in a high-intensity, stressful and dangerous environment, sometimes for months at a time. These same deployments often force

  • Furlough, finance, resiliency

    So, here we are in early March realizing what we all had hoped to avoid what has happened -- sequestration is here. A furlough may be just around the corner for Department of Defense civilian employees. As most have already heard, this equates to an approximately 20 percent cut in pay. For many

  • Shaking it up: Air Force special duties offer growth

    The definition of insanity is doing something the same way over and over and expecting a different result. Like many, I joined the U.S. Air Force because I was doing the same thing day after day without result.I was 24 and the money for school had dried up. Work wasn't going anywhere. I saw the same

  • Under a foreign sky

    More than a year had passed since I returned from my deployment to Africa, the memories and experiences still fresh in my mind. Africa - to me, will always be a transformational land. Not in the sense that the continent itself is in a constant state of change, but in the fact that I will always

  • Put down the phone, pick up a conversation

    Albert Einstein said, "I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots."I first saw this quote one day on a social networking site, and it was accompanied by several photos of people sitting in social settings with one or more people

  • Enlisted Airmen overcome most stressful job of 2013

    Are you feeling stressed yet?If not, you may soon feel the pressure. According to a report published by CNBC.com, "Enlisted Military Personnel" tops the chart for the most stressful job of 2013.As a new lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, my stress may be coming from the novelty of the job or trying

  • PT excellence, on and off duty

    One way units around the Air Force attempt to keep their Airmen in fighting shape is mandatory group physical training. With more demanding test requirements than ever before, squadron PT isn't enough for most. As a result, there has been an increase in discharges due to Airmen not being able to

  • We can always be better leaders

    I was recently given a wake-up call during a conversation with another member of my organization: I needed to be out there, on the front line, leading all of the Airmen in my unit. We all tend to get wrapped up in our day-to-day jobs. We sometimes forget that as noncommissioned officers and