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  • Wounded warriors help cancer survivor cycle to recovery

    Last week, I hit the 2.5 year mark of being cancer free, and in that time I have been learning to accept the "new normal" that comes with that. Not everything will be as it was, but I do know that the Air Force that I serve in will be there to ensure I'm taken care of. Earlier this year, I was

  • How I learned to live

    I thought I was ready for war.I had gone through Army combat skills training at Fort Lewis, Wash. I had squared away all my financial and legal documents. I even found a new confidence and a love for the military.My brother, Army Sgt. Ian Ralston, a combat medic, and I spoke on the phone while I was

  • 21 Airmen and their mission ... THE mission

    On Feb. 1, I attended the funeral of a friend and fellow Airman who was killed in a tragic car accident in Italy, leaving behind a wife and two sons. Family and friends, many Airmen among them, gathered in a small town in New York to pay their respects. A U.S. Air Force Honor Guard was there and the

  • Help is available after a sexual assault

    Nearly 600 sexual assaults were reported throughout the Air Force in fiscal 2009.According to Department of Defense officials, the majority of men and women who experience a sexual assault, 78 percent and 79 percent respectively, choose not to report the incident.Victims do not report sexual

  • Building morale and esprit de corps

    Throughout my career, I have had the honor to serve on more than 16 different teams with as many different missions. Each one of those experiences provided me with a different perspective in regard to morale and esprit de corps.Throughout the years, I have come to realize it makes little difference

  • What service before self really means

    Recent events have given me the opportunity to reflect on Air Force core values -- integrity, service before self and excellence in all we do. The one I hold above all others is service before self. This simple little three-word phrase, in my opinion, is the bedrock of our nation's armed forces and

  • Are you an Airman?

    Are you an Airman? Honestly? It seems like a pretty easy question. I wear the Air Force uniform, I work on an air force base, I get paid twice a month by the Air Force ... I must be an Airman, right? Well, maybe. However, I believe being an Airman is a bit more than what you wear, where you work and

  • Haiti: this is why I serve

    I'm often asked why I choose to be in the Air Force. Some people ask to start up conversation, others to be polite, and some genuinely wonder what compels Airmen to swear to support and defend the Constitution, put themselves in harm's way and deploy far from home. Most people who ask are looking

  • Wasting time

    Since 1956, the traditional punishment for rule infractions at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., has been "the tour." A tour is one hour spent in service dress, carrying a rifle at right shoulder arms, marching in a single-file line around in a square. This isn't a particularly

  • Straight from the heart

    Forty-five years ago this month, an event took place that determined the path of my life. This article is a tribute to that event, and I would like to recognize the efforts of the American Heart Association in battling heart disease, the brilliant medical professionals who have made remarkable