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Back to basics

  • Published
  • By Gen. Stephen R. Lorenz
  • Commander, Air Education and Training Command
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  These are challenging times. If you're keeping up with the news, you're probably as frustrated as I am when you see editorials with titles like, "Clean up the Air Force." While we have important issues such as nuclear accountability that must be addressed, you and I both know that the vast majority of the Air Force does not need "cleaning up." As Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has said, "I have every confidence in you, and in the Air Force that has served our country so well."

Nevertheless, when faced with these negative perceptions, our best answer is to get back to basics. Every good team faces bad news from time to time. The excellent teams get through adversity by focusing on what made them excellent to begin with. This is what we must do now.

For the U.S. Air Force, our basics have been, and must always be, our core values: integrity, service and excellence. These values have stood the test of time. They sustained our predecessors when they faced difficulty, and they will do the same for us today.

Integrity is our number one value, which is why we say "Integrity First." When used to describe a building, the word integrity implies strength. If a building has integrity, it can weather a storm and remain strong. The Air Force is built upon the integrity of its people -- you and me. If our collective integrity is strong, then the Air Force will be able to weather any storm. Unfortunately, the opposite is true as well.

I believe the key to integrity is transparency. Our actions should be transparent to outsiders. While they may not always agree with our decisions, they will see that we are making an honest effort to do what is right. Everything we do in serving the nation should be done as if we were being observed by the American people. If we act in this way, integrity will not be a problem.

We are all public servants, and this requires sacrifice. In short, it requires us to put "Service Before Self." We exhibit this core value when we leave our families for deployments, when we put ourselves in harm's way, and even when we work the extra hour to make sure the job is done right.

Service Before Self does not mean service in spite of self, however. We all have times when our personal lives, especially our families, take priority. That is when we as the Air Force family must step up and cover for each other. When you take on an additional task to help a fellow Airman who is dealing with personal issues, you make the Air Force stronger. And one day, someone will do the same for you.

We became the world's leading Air Force by exhibiting "Excellence In All We Do," and we must keep striving for excellence today. This means that we must aggressively and constantly seek improvement. The Airmen who came before us would not settle for the status quo. They always sought better ways of doing business -- better processes, better equipment, better training. We must do the same.

It is a fact that the most dangerous time for each of us is when we first get comfortable at something, be it flying a sortie, fixing an engine, teaching a class, or simply driving to work. Comfort leads to complacency, and complacency kills. For this reason, I believe that we all should be a little uncomfortable in our jobs. That slight degree of discomfort gives us a valuable edge that spurs us to learn more and get better.

Can I share a secret with you? I'm a little uncomfortable in my new position as Commander of Air Education and Training Command. As I learn about what the great Airmen of the command do, I am truly humbled. Our command is so large and diverse that I have a hard time seeing how I can ever become as knowledgeable as I want to be.

Although I would like to be comfortable, I know that personal comfort would be professionally detrimental for the Airmen I command. That is why I'm going to leave my comfort zone, focus on the basics, and strive for bigger and better things for our team. I am just one Airman, however, and I can't do anything alone.

No one says it better than our acting Secretary of the Air Force, Michael Donley. "There is no quicker route to recovery than the power of tens of thousands of Airmen and civilians rededicating themselves to the high standards of excellence that have always been the hallmark of the world's best Air Force." I ask you to come alongside me, and let's work together to turn adversity into opportunity by getting back to basics.