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  • Thirty years to closure

    A parent's wartime deployment can be traumatic for children. I experienced this first-hand as a child when my dad went to Vietnam. It took me 30 years and a second significant emotional event for me to come to closure.My dad was a career Army noncommissioned officer. In 1968, a peak year for the

  • Finding yourself in a resource-constrained environment

    Former Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. Curtis LeMay, while serving as the 3rd Air Division commander out of England, was ordered to team with the 1st Air Division, led by Gen. Robert Williams, to conduct surprise bombings of targets in Germany during a time when the Germans maintained air

  • Tops in Blue

    A number of thoughts may cross an Airman's mind as their eyes pass over the title of this commentary. I suppose the most common of these thoughts is one about the Air Force's outstanding troupe of entertainers who comprise Tops in Blue. Airmen who have been associated with the Air Force for a while

  • Take heed: gift card scams

    While Airmen may be better educated than the average citizen when it comes to detecting attempts to obtain personal information by means of phishing and bogus e-mails, the criminal community remains hard at work, devising improved methods to pry sensitive personal information from people. One of the

  • Redefining responsibility

    Responsible consumption of alcohol is an important message that we are constantly sending to our troops. One death is too many deaths. One accident is too many accidents. One incident is too many accidents. However, I think that we need to redefine the term "responsible."Underage drinking has been

  • PT etiquette 101

    The new physical fitness standards are in full swing, and you can see the impact by walking into any fitness center across the Air Force. The great thing about having packed gyms is seeing how the Air Force is getting in shape, getting fit and being ready to fight. The bad part about seeing so many

  • Wearing the star: part 1

    My alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. as I got ready to start my day shadowing Chief Master Sgt. Clifton Cole, 28th Bomb Wing command chief.I was already questioning my commitment to mirror his schedule for the full experience of what it means to be the highest ranking enlisted Airman on Ellsworth. 0500 -

  • Accountability: a tale of two senior NCOs

    As a superintendent, I am honored to work hand-in-hand with the commanders and first sergeant to maintain standards, morale and discipline in the group while ensuring mission success.In keeping with this, I have daily interaction with many people in all kinds of situations.With very few exceptions,

  • Gone but not forgotten

    As a child, I remember being regaled by my dad's stories of how he joined the Army at the age of 17 because he wanted to go to Vietnam. I found it bespoke his character that while there were those dodging the draft, painting their toenails pink and running away to Canada, my father actually

  • Coping with loss

    I didn't know them. Not personally, anyway. But when two members of a base with little more than 600 people die, it's hard not to be affected.On Aug. 2, I had to photograph the ceremonial loading and departure of the remains of two 1-228th Aviation Regiment Soldiers who died recently in an off-base