Effective Leadership Through Institutional Integrity

Effective leaders understand that uncompromising and rigid institutional integrity ought to be a core value of any law enforcement or intelligence organization. They appreciate their responsibility to monitor and train their workforce with respect to laws, procedures, regulations, and policies governing their operations and daily activities.

Successful leaders create, develop, and sustain an environment where employees are not reluctant to report any recognized or suspected failure to strictly adhere to law or policy by themselves or others. Personnel want to be confident that their leaders will take the necessary and corrective actions to document and address these failures.

In this evermore multifaceted criminal and intelligence gathering atmosphere where law enforcement professionals function, leaders should try to develop and foster an organizational mentality conducive to ensuring compliance with prevailing laws and policies. Leaders will want to make certain that a formalized procedure for dealing with any failure to comply is obtainable. During the summer of 2007, the FBI responded to this challenge by creating the Office of Integrity and Compliance, part of the Office of the Director, which oversees the Bureau’s Integrity and Compliance Program.

Successful law enforcement leaders may want to consider constructing and placing into practice a compliance program within their departments that can be tailored to proactively discover and mitigate violations of law, operational procedures, or administrative regulations. Officers and other employees ought to recognize and understand their responsibility to report incidents of misconduct, misbehavior, or any systemic failure to follow rules. If it is to succeed, an agency’s program will guarantee confidentiality and promote a spirit of appreciation for doing what is right, instead of instilling a fear of retaliation. A reputable and well-established compliance program can support an organizational culture that encourages ethical and principled behavior. Such an endeavor is the foundation for a triumphant, respected, and professional law enforcement and intelligence organization.

Special Agent Douglas B. Merel, an instructor in the Leadership Development Institute at the FBI Academy, prepared this Leadership Spotlight.

Sea Cadets Gain Experience From NAS Jacksonville Sailors

By Kaylee LaRocque, Naval Air Station Jacksonville Public Affairs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- A group of 104 sea cadets and adult volunteers reported aboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville (Jax), Fla., for annual training July 17-30 as part of a program to help youths gain technical knowledge through hands-on training.

The cadets, ages 11 to 17, spent the week working at the Flight Line Cafe, Rescue Swimmer School, Chapel Center, Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, Fleet Logistics Squadron 58, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 14, Air Operations and Helicopter Combat Weapons School.

All were required to complete a "boot camp" at Naval Station Mayport or Fort Benning, Ga., before reporting to NAS Jax.

"The U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps is one of the best-kept secrets in the country, and we want to change this situation. We have a lot to offer in the way of showing kids that gangs, drugs and alcohol are not good choices and what they choose now will affect their lives in their near future," said U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Regional Director 6-2 Lt. Cmdr. June Tillet.

"We aim to instill a sense of self-preservation by providing structure and discipline which in turn builds camaraderie with their peers who are making those good choices to stay straight, stay in school and rise above the negative pressures placed upon them. We also teach them about leading a healthy lifestyle by eating nutritious foods and less fast foods and the benefits of daily exercise," said Tillet. "There are about 10,000 active sea cadets in more than 300 units."

Seven Sea Cadets spent the week at the Flight Line Cafe, where they manned a variety of workstations, including the bakery, service line, vegetable and food preparation areas. While learning how a galley works, the cadets helped prepare many different dishes from scratch.

"I'm really having a lot of fun working at the galley. I worked here last year also and enjoyed it so much, I wanted to do this again," said Sea Cadet Arianna Rodriguez.

"These young folks are tomorrow's Navy. From the time they get here on the deckplate, our attention to them is investing in the future of the U.S. Navy. It's important that we teach them as much as possible," said Senior Chief Culinary Specialist Byron French, Flight Line Cafe leading chief petty officer. "They seek us out as the platform for this training, and we teach them and put them to work. They work in all areas of the galley – cooking, cleaning, serving and preparing food. They learn how the facility operates from end to end."

Three cadets also worked with religious specialists at the NAS Jax Chapel Center learning how the chapel functions, what services are provided and the day-to-day operations.

"I chose to work here because I wanted to learn more about different religions and branch out to learn something new. This is my fourth sea cadet training, and I'm learning a lot about what a religious specialist does in the Navy," said Sea Cadet Rebecca Corley.

NCMB 14 Ensign Todd Kisshauer said the cadets come from as far away as Indiana for the two-week training.

"They experience what Seabees do day-in and day-out — from welding, hanging drywall and installing insulation to learning weapons safety in the firearms simulator. We even create a Seabee mission in Africa, where we set up a perimeter and encampment at the base antenna farm. In this training scenario, sea cadets from the Helicopter Submarine Maritime Wing Atlantic Rescue Swimmer School portrayed "aggressors" and attempted to infiltrate the perimeter," said Kisshauer.

"We brought three cadets and three officers to NCMB 14. This hands-on training is invaluable, and our cadets will be talking about it for a long time." said Navy Sea Cadet Corps Lt. Diane Smith of Nashville, Tenn.

"Coordination of nine different training evolutions is quite tricky, especially in regards to logistics and moving all of the 104 personnel around the base. But the commands here have been extremely receptive, and we are grateful for their assistance," said Tillett.

The NSCC program is open to youths who have a desire to learn about the Navy, Marines and Merchant Marine. Members drill at their local units weekly or monthly during the year and are given the opportunity to participate in advanced training during school breaks at various locations around the country. Some of the areas of training include medical, firefighting, aviation, culinary arts, photojournalism, SEAL team, sailing and basic seamanship.

NECC Force Leadership Participate in Media Roundtable Discussion

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Derrick M. Ingle, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Public Affairs

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- The commander of Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command (MCAST) and the executive assistant to Commander, 1st Naval Construction Division (1NCD) addressed their respective commands' commitment to global partnerships and humanitarian assistance during a media roundtable Aug. 3.

"MCAST is a new command under Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) as of October 2009," said Capt. Claudia Risner, MCAST commander. "We man, train and equip teams to deploy six months at a time to work with partner nations to help improve their maritime security and to build stability in the host nation. We're currently working in support of areas of influence under U.S. Africa Command, Southern Command and Pacific Command."

"Our security force assistance teams, which are comprised of trained professional instructors, are additionally sent down range for two to four weeks to train partner nation militaries in small boat operations, weapons handling and other skills needed to protect themselves," said Risner.

The Navy Seabees, who use their construction efforts to help allied countries and disadvantaged people around the world, coordinate with MCAST.

"We're working closely with MCAST and the commandant commands off the Horn of Africa, drilling wells throughout Ethiopia, renovating a school in Bulgaria and building an urgent care facility in Montenegro," said Capt. Joe Grealish, executive assistant to Commander, 1NCD. "We also have a unit in Haiti right now providing humanitarian assistance followed by another Haiti project called 'New Horizons,' where we'll improve water wells and help renovate a school."

From maritime strategies to disaster relief operations, both MCAST and the Seabees view their measure of effectiveness not by their product or service, but by the relationships built and the Navy's lasting impression on a host nation.

"Our objective is access, information and influence," said Risner. "We're there working on the ground with the locals gaining access and information on key leaders and are finally able to influence them to emulate the type of behavior needed for worldwide maritime security. The key is to keep coming back periodically, six months at a time, ensuring things are on course and maintaining that partnership. We're going to be here for the long haul."

"The focus is winning the peace and developing partner nation capacity," said Grealish. "We'll continue to help other navy(s) police their borders and develop their maritime strategy domains, making their areas more stable and secure and increasing our chances of peace as well as improving our skills in case there is conflict."

NECC forces, such as those of MCAST and 1NCD, are globally distributed and mission-tailored to provide persistent engagement prior to disasters, and lessen human suffering during times of crisis.

Air Force officials name 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year

Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Air Force officials have selected the service's top enlisted members, naming the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2010.

An Air Force selection board at the Air Force Personnel Center here considered 36 nominees who represented major commands, direct reporting units, field operating agencies and the Air Staff. The board selected the 12 Airmen based on superior leadership, job performance and personal achievements.

The nominees are authorized to wear the Outstanding Airman of the Year ribbon, while the 12 winners will wear the bronze service star device on the ribbon. The winners will also wear the Outstanding Airman of the Year Badge for one year from the date of formal presentation.

The winners are:

Staff Sgt. Joseph R. Aton, Air Combat Command
Tech. Sgt. Anthony G. Graham, Pacific Air Forces
Staff Sgt. Robert Gutierrez Jr., Air Force Special Operations Command
Senior Master Sgt. Steven Higgins, U.S. Air Forces in Europe
Tech. Sgt. Stephen R. Hunter Jr., Air Force Reserve Command
Master Sgt. James P. Mogren, Air Force Material Command
Senior Airman Cheryl A. Moore, Air Force District of Washington
Senior Airman Ryan D. Pfeifer, Air Force Global Strike Command
Staff Sgt. Zully M. Renon, Air Education and Training Command
Airman 1st Class Samuel A. Siewert, Air Mobility Command
Master Sgt. Sarah A. Sparks, Air Force Space Command
Staff Sgt. Kenneth I. Walker III, Air National Guard

The Air Force Association will honor the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year during its Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition in Washington, D.C., in September. The Airmen will also serve as members of the AFA's enlisted advisory council for the next year.

For more information on this and other Air Force recognition programs, visit the Air Force Personnel Center personnel services website at http://gum.afpc.randolph.af.mil/ or call the Total Force Service Center toll-free at (800) 525-0102 or DSN 665-5000.

Excellence is the rule at Wisconsin National Guard school

Date: July 30, 2010
By Spc. Alyson Berzinski
112th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Soldiers around the country are learning about the Wisconsin National Guard's award-winning regional training center at Fort McCoy.

The 426th Training Regiment, a major subordinate command of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, operates the 426th Regional Training Institute - a professional learning and career advancement facility housed in the Wisconsin Military Academy.

"Our mission is to plan, resource, and execute uncompromised training in a full-time facility," said Maj. Gary Thompson, the 426th Regiment administrative officer and assistant operational officer.

The 426th trains future leaders through its Officer Candidate School and Warrant Officer Candidate School. Along with these schools, the 426th also provides education for the basic field artillery and basic emergency medical technician Military Occupational Specialty qualifications and noncommissioned officer education system, truck driving, infantry, combat lifesaving and other courses.

"We have really evolved from the Wisconsin Military Academy Officer Candidate School to a full-fledged regional training institute," said Col. Kenneth Koon, commander of the 426th Regiment and commandant of the Wisconsin Military Academy. "I see it continuing to expand."

The regiment is broken down into two separate battalions - the 1st Battalion Field Artillery and the 2nd Battalion Modular Training.

The field artillery battalion is a joint school house with the active duty artillery school at Fort Sill, Okla. Last year, the 426th's Field Artillery School House was named an Institution of Excellence after scoring more than 95 percent on their accreditation. Koon said the 1st Battalion, which focuses on towed artillery as well as forward observers and fire direction centers, conducts about one-third of all artillery school training for National Guard Soldiers across the nation each year. The battalion also provides live-fire exercises for its artillery non-commissioned officer courses.

Koon envisions the regional training institute program nationwide opening enrollment to active component Soldiers, which would be attractive due to a more compressed training schedule as well as closer training facilities in some cases. A potential risk, he noted, would be that the active component would fill most of the RTI school openings.

The Modular Training Battalion provides a variety of training for Soldiers, including large truck driving, emergency medical technician, infantry, state priority training for mobilizations, combat lifesaver, fitness training and master resiliency training. The 2nd Battalion's Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course has also been named a Center of Excellence, Thompson said.

The 426th Regiment is in the process of implementing a four-phase plan to create a third battalion dedicated to state priority training missions, which would in turn provide the 2nd Battalion greater opportunity to focus on military occupational specialty courses. Thompson said the four phases include selecting battalion staff, building programs around that staff, developing new simulator training and obtaining training space.

"We're thinking about what the Army needs to do next and applying it now," said Thompson about implementing a new battalion.

Koon said the 426th continually seeks to maximize its resources by integrating as many assets as possible, as well as making assets available. One of three Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer (HEAT) devices will be mobile so the 426th can provide this training opportunity at unit locations across the state.

"We're able to do live, virtual and constructive training and give that Soldier a full-bodied training experience," he explained. "A plethora of experiences builds confidence."

Each year the 426th plans their course calendars based on the availability of instructors and classroom seats. The training is put together in such a way that the courses will occasionally combine to conduct practical exercises and use each other's training skills for qualifications, said Thompson.

"Our goal is to train the squad as a weapon system," Thompson said. "So every time they act, it's as a team."

Additional long-range plans for the 426th include an enclosed live-fire range next to the Wisconsin Military Academy, and developing training packages that suit particular missions which require numerous skill sets.

Since Fiscal Year 2009, the 426th Regional Training Institute has assisted in the MOS training of more than 3,500 Soldiers. The students are not just from one state of region - they come from all over the world for training, Thompson said.

"The vision for the 426th Regiment RTI is to continue growing, looking toward the future," he said. "We keep looking for trends in how we train and what we're training in order to move forward."

Suicide Solution Involves Leadership, Mullen Says

By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 2, 2010 - While no easy answers exist to a military suicide problem that has reached "crisis level," a big part of the solution is tied to leadership, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.

Addressing the National Guard Family Program Volunteer Workshop in New Orleans, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen touched on the need to care for servicemembers, both physically and emotionally.

"Because of the pace, because of the stress, because of the demands, and because of the incredible achievements as well as the tragedies that are associated with these wars, we are holding a lot in," Mullen said. "As these wars wind down -- and they will -- I would argue that the better we are right now, the more up front we are in attacking and trying to solve some of these problems, the quicker they will go away."

However, Defense Department officials still are in the early stages of understanding war's impacts, such as post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury, Mullen noted.

The focus must be on how to get ready for that deployment and how to be preventive in building resilience on the front end that will carry through the deployment cycle.

Mullen also expressed concern for the rate at which the nation is generating homeless veterans, particularly female homeless veterans. "They have the children," he said. "We've got to head that off."

Mullen said he was approached by a young homeless veteran in Los Angeles who had served in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. He told the chairman, "I gave a 100 percent; I'd just like 100 percent back."

On wounded warriors, Mullen noted that while compensation is necessary, the emphasis has been primarily on disability and on money. However, he added, "the emphasis needs to be on ability and on people and on their future, because they are going to give a lot."

Mullen called on the military's leaders to help. "The most important ingredient is leadership: aggressive, focused, listening leadership," he said. "Because ... in the toughest situations, when nothing else seems to work, leadership breaks through.

"We can't do anything in the military without sustaining this great force," he added. "That's why we've got to get it right, now and in the future."

Disabled Veteran of the Year: ASM1 David Riley

Saturday, July 31, 2010
Written by: CDR Glynn Smith

Retired Aviation Survivalman First Class David Riley, a quadruple amputee, became the first Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Disabled American Veterans’ Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year Award at the organization’s annual convention in Atlanta, Ga., today. The award recognizes Riley’s outstanding achievements that include his community service, Coast Guard Auxiliary membership and athletic activities.

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp was on hand for the presentation and addressed the delegates. “It’s an honor to be here and take part in the presentation of the Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year award to a remarkable Coast Guardsman,” said Papp.

Riley enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1984, and completed Aviation Survivalman School and Navy Helicopter Rescue School in 1986. At that time, the Coast Guard’s aviation survival program was in its infancy, having just been officially stood up in 1984. His first assignment was at Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco, where he qualified in an HH-52 helicopter. Riley went on to become qualified in three other Coast Guard helicopters: HH-3s, HH65s and HH60s.

“Being a rescue swimmer is one of the most challenging jobs in the Coast Guard,” said Papp, adding, “It requires extraordinary physical demands.”

Dave was medically retired in 1998 after a bacterial infection caused the loss of all four of his limbs. Since his injury, Dave has gone on to become an inspirational leader in the local Disabled American Veterans chapter, a Veterans Administration hospital volunteer, Auxiliary member, and disabled athlete.

“Dave is continuing to live out his life by the rescue swimmers creed – so that others might live – the only difference is that those others are no longer people in need of rescue from the sea,” said Papp. “He now rescues injured veterans returning home in need of an example of how to cope with their injuries.”

The Disabled American Veterans is a 1.2 million-member non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932. It represents our Nation’s wartime disabled veterans and is dedicated to a single purpose: building better lives for disabled veterans and their families.

Soldier Takes Fight From Cage to Army

By Chris Rasmussen
Fort Jackson Leader

July 30, 2010 - Army Pvt. Hannah Grossman appears to be a typical soldier in training: young, determined and focused. But before donning an Army combat uniform, the human resource information management specialist student was a professional cage fighter.

Grossman, who hails from Lexington, Mo., and fought under her maiden name, Hannah Doak, is assigned to Company A, 369th Adjutant Battalion.

"Cage fighting is not about beating people up," she said. "It is a mentally and physically challenging sport that is the longest three minutes of your life."

Cage fighting, also referred to as mixed martial arts, is a combination of several fighting disciplines that involves several striking and grappling techniques. Opponents compete in a caged ring for three three-minute rounds.

"There are a lot of parallels between MMA and the Army," Grossman said. "You have to stay focused. If you don't put 100 percent into it, someone is going to get hurt -- just like if you don't focus 100 percent during training, when you get downrange, someone is going to get hurt or worse."

Grossman, who has won three of her five professional matches, said she began the sport as a way to channel her anger that stemmed from a bout with skin cancer.

"I was angry at the world, and wanted to channel it somewhere positive," she said. "I started professional arm wrestling, but broke my arm. Three months after that, I began training for cage fighting."

Army Capt. Miguel Santana, her company commander, said he was impressed with Grossman's skills after viewing a video clip on the Internet.

"Eighteen seconds into the fight, she got her opponent into a rear-naked choke hold and won," Santana said. "You could tell how focused she was going into the cage. It is definitely an honor to have her in my company, because she embodies the Warrior Ethos and what a soldier is."

In addition to maintaining a strict diet, Grossman said, she spent three hours in the gym five days a week training to become a professional mixed martial artist.

"More people get hurt training than fighting, because you do so much," she said. "You develop a family-like relationship with the people you train with. You need that support, because it is very intimidating going into a cage with someone that knows how to fight."

Grossman joined the Army five years ago, but had to leave training when she discovered doctors failed to determine she was pregnant. Now that she's back in uniform, she hopes for an opportunity to put her skills to work in hand-to-hand combat, a skill known as "combatives" in the Army.

"I always wanted to come back," she said. "I initially wanted to become a soldier because my grandfather was a World War II vet. I want to serve my country. I also want to do combatives for the Army. That is my goal."

Harnessing diversity to strengthen our sea services

Friday, July 30, 2010
by: CDR Glynn Smith

It was a privilege and honor to participate in the first joint National Naval Officers Association and Association of Naval Service Officers Professional Development and Training Conference held in Portsmouth, VA. I was thrilled to see the strong Coast Guard contingent, roughly 250 members, who attended the conference. I fully support and take great pride in the relationships I have with these two organizations.

The challenge from this conference is for us to harness diversity to strengthen our sea services – how can we recruit and retain a workforce that allows us to bring within our ranks and benefit from the diversity of people that are today’s America? The good news is that we have a comprehensive diversity plan that I am committed to implementing. I realize that having a plan is just the first step; we must now stand a taut watch to see our plan to execution.

The comprehensive diversity plan has five basic goals:

1) Assure a diverse workforce through all-hands commitment with leadership accountability;

2) Fully utilize communication and focus groups to improve workforce cultural climate;

3) Expand outreach to underrepresented populations;

4) Equitable hiring and career opportunities for all employees, and;

5) Optimize training and education to emphasize the value of a diverse workforce.

I am similarly committed to working to ensure that the Coast Guard is the service of choice for all Americans – that there is unfettered access for all who wish to join our ranks. Unfettered access allows for two things to happen. First, by reaching out into communities that may have not historically sought out careers in the sea services, we make these communities aware of the opportunity to serve. Second, our sea services get the benefit of an expanded group of potential members, with their unique individual competencies, capacities and experiences from which to select for service. Unfettered access results in more opportunity and more choice. The Coast Guard can draw strength and spirit from new prospective – informed by different heritages we can take new approaches, broaden our view of the possible, and by doing so we enrich our Service and one another.

One of the great contributions that affinity organizations like the National Naval Officers Association and Association of Naval Service Officers provide is assistance with enhancing diversity. During my tenure as Commandant, I will look to them for support and assistance in recruiting, developing and retaining a diverse workforce.

Navy Warfare Commanders Talk Diversity, Mentoring

By Lt. Laura K. Stegherr, Diversity Directorate Public Affairs

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (NNS) -- A panel of warfare and enterprise leaders shared their perspectives on diversity with members of the National Naval Officers Association (NNOA) and the Association of Naval Service Officers (ANSO) during the organizations' joint professional development and training conference here July 27.

The group, composed of senior leadership from the surface, submarine, aviation, expeditionary, medical and cyber warfare communities, spoke to the nearly 300 Navy attendees on their personal experiences and challenges with implementing diversity within their commands.

Rear Adm. Michelle Howard, former commander of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2, represented the surface warfare community on the panel. Howard said having a diverse command staff while at Combined Task Force 151 aided in the success of one of the most high-profile Navy operations in recent history - the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips of the U.S.-flagged merchant vessel Maersk Alabama.

"My chief of staff happened to be male at the time. My deputy, who was a Marine, happened to be male. My N2 officer was a female. My N3 was African American. My deputy N3 was a Reservist who was activated, who was Chinese American," said Howard.

"One of the key people in the process was a Somali interpreter who was a US citizen. Another key person in the process was a civilian who was a retired FBI agent who was doing a tour with the Amphibious Ready Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit," said Howard. "So when you talk about the surface community, the success of the Maersk Alabama was due to the officers and enlisted in those planning cells - and the civilians and Reservists."

"My staff looked a lot like this room," Howard added. "It reflected who we are in this country. So the sons and daughters of this nation did really well."

The commanders also talked about outreach and mentoring programs that they have implemented within their enterprises to promote diversity and inclusion.

Rear Adm. Richard O'Hanlon, commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic, explained how naval aviators have a system in place to facilitate outreach to youth in new areas across the nation.

"Over the last few years we have really emphasized the outreach piece," said O'Hanlon. "We have a website available for aircrew to select their cross country destinations that would involve a stop by a school or an area that we want to market the Navy in, so that we can draw potential recruits in. It's been very successful. At least fifty times this year, we have visited places with aircraft and aircrew to talk about naval aviation."

Vice Adm. Adam M. Robinson Jr., surgeon general of the Navy and chief of the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, emphasized that this outreach should also begin before students even reach high school.

"The STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] programs we need to support are the ones that begin in elementary school and that begin in those areas that are considered to be underachieving areas," said Robinson.

"What we have there is a wealth of intellectual talent that is rough and raw and ready to be harvested and refined," said Robinson. "And I'm talking about elementary school...I'm talking about first grade, and I'm talking about second grade, because we need to go and make sure that those younger minds have the opportunity to advance and to be cultivated into the types of leaders that this country must have."

Rear Adm. Thomas Meek, commander of Navy Cyber Forces, emphasized that outreach must also be undertaken by even the highest levels of Navy leadership.

"I'm here today because I felt it was important to talk about [diversity] and to be a personal example. And I'm going to encourage those who work under me and within my purview, within my domain, to do the same," said Meek. "If we're going to get this right in the Navy, we've got to confront it, we've got to understand it, and then we've got to take action on it. And that is 100 percent of our domain workforce that I'm talking to there."

"I think that I can continue to work this after I leave the Navy by talking about the Navy to my local community when I move back to Michigan, which is where I intend to go," continued Meek. "I can continue to go to high schools and to talk about their Navy and what the Navy is doing for them."

The panelists agreed that even with the many successes of diversity within the Navy, each of their commands is facing unique challenges.

"Diversity has been a big challenge for us," said Vice Adm. Jay Donnelly, commander of U.S. Submarine Force. "In the enlisted community we are in reasonably good shape with our diversity efforts. But in the officer community that is not the case. And so the efforts of my diversity programs have mostly focused on accessions of diverse officers."



"We're actually pretty healthy in the enlisted cohort, it's the gender in the enlisted cohort," said Howard. "The issue becomes moving women into the non-traditional ratings - hull technician vice yeoman gets to be the challenge."

The panelists also encouraged the conference attendees to lead the charge in diversity outreach.

"Our nation is such a diverse and glorious institution, and country," said Robinson. "And that's why it's important for ANSO and NNOA to come together, and that's why it's important to remember that it's not about how I as a three star perpetuate this, it's about how you will perpetuate this. You know, I'm fifty-nine, and I'm done, but there are people here who are just beginning. You've seen what I have done and you've heard what I have said. What are you talking about?"

NNOA and ANSO are sea service affinity groups dedicated to supporting the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps in the recruitment, retention and professional development of minority officers. The organizations' inaugural joint conference runs until July 30.

Program prepares Guard recruits for training - and life

Date: July 28, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Emily J. Russell
Wisconsin National Guard

Today's Soldiers require different skills than even a few years ago as the demands of modern military missions continually change. To prepare Wisconsin Army National Guard recruits for the mental, physical and emotional challenge they will face at basic combat training, the Recruit Sustainment Program teaches new Soldiers what to expect - and do - to keep them in step with this ever-changing environment.

"The Recruit Sustainment Program's primary mission is to prepare newly enlisted soldiers to succeed at basic and advance training," said Master Sgt. Joshua Reed, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the Green Bay-based RSP Delta Company. "This in turn supports the [unit] commander's mission and reduces our training pipeline losses which provides the Wisconsin Adjutant General with a more operational and ready force."

The less amount of time a recruit spends between signing up and shipping to basic training means a lower attrition rate. The goal is to get a recruit shipped within 120 days of joining.

"We perform in-ranks inspections and drill and ceremony daily, we want these skills ingrained in each recruit before they [ship to basic training]," said Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Liske, a platoon sergeant for the RSP. "The more they learn here the less stressful basic training will be.

"They can't absorb everything we throw at them so we work on repetition to make sure they have a good grasp on basic skills," Liske added. "We're not as hard [on them] as drill sergeants but we are strict."

Pfc. Dan Grosso, a new recruit who is scheduled to ship to basic training in August, began attending RSP drill weekends in February.

"This is giving me the knowledge I need for when I get [to basic training]," Groso said. "Without the RSP, I'd be a slacker and wouldn't be in the [physical] shape I'm in or know what to expect."

Pvt. Tyler Klozotsky, a Soldier who completed basic training and is waiting to ship to advanced individual training where he'll learn to be a medic, was pleased with what he learned before he left for basic training too.

"I was one of six people who passed the [Army physical fitness test] at basic," Klozotsky said. "Back here, I share my experience from basic training and help out with the new recruits."

New Soldiers learn what will be expected of them whether it's in regard to discipline, tradition or physical requirements. By reducing the amount of uncertainty, the individuals' comfort level is increased allowing them to be more mentally prepared to accomplish the tasks ahead.

"Today kids' fitness levels are trending down, which makes it more of a challenge to prepare them to overcome those physical challenges at basic training," Reed said. "The current generation of kids is used to instant gratification and is very tech savvy; sometimes it takes some additional coaching to get them to understand you have to work hard to achieve certain goals. This doesn't mean they are bad kids or incapable of military service, most are still highly motivated and want to serve their country but we as trainers at the RSP need to be cognizant of the challenges the kids will face."

Instilling the Army "Warrior Ethos" creates a strong foundation of training that allows the recruit the ability to achieve success while attending basic and advanced training. The Warrior Ethos internalizes Army fundamentals as vows - "I will always place the mission first; I will never accept defeat; I will never quit; I will never leave a fallen comrade."

"We have seen a tremendous increase in the success rate of our Soldiers attending training," Reed said. "The success rate has improved by approximately 18 percent. Our drill attendance rate for non-[military occupational specialty qualified] Soldiers has increased by more than 24 percent."

Pvt. Ashley Enderby, a recruit who completed basic training last year, is awaiting her next school where she will become qualified as light-medium truck driver.

"RSP has prepared me well," she said. "I was one of the only privates who knew what they were doing. I felt like I was on top of my game."

Enderby and other Soldiers who completed basic training are a step ahead of those recruits who still waiting to attend basic. Platoon sergeants develop the new basic training graduates by assigning them small leadership roles within the RSP.

"They ask me to lead formations or small groups to perform simple tasks," Enderby said. "It makes me feel like I know what I'm doing and gives me an opportunity to feel what it's like in a leadership position."

The returning basic training graduates help to monitor and correct small groups of new Soldiers and will lead groups of 10 to 20 people.

"When they take charge, they're building confidence and more leadership skills at the age of 17 years old than many 30-year-old civilians," said Sgt. 1st Class Chad Kurowski, a platoon sergeant with the RSP.

"Our service members are singled out at basic training because they know what's going on," Kurowski continued. "They know how to wear their uniform, how to talk to a [non-commissioned officer] or an officer, the correct way to do [physical fitness training] and how to [execute] drill and ceremony movements."

The changes in the new recruits aren't just evident in the military environment; they often shine through in the Soldier's civilian life.

"Parents are so supportive because they see a night-and-day difference in their [children] between their junior and senior year of high school," Kurowski said of the Soldiers who enlist and ship to basic training before their final year in high school. "Discipline, responsibility and integrity play a big role in the change. If everyone in society lived by these Army Values, how great would we be?"

Since the RSPs inception in 2005 the attrition rate of new enlistees who did not go to basic training has decreased dramatically, improving the statistics of Soldiers successfully completing basic and advanced training.

"[In 2005] the ship rate for new soldiers was 77 percent," Reed said. "By 2008 it moved up to 84 percent. [Currently] we're at a 94 percent ship rate which is an incredible improvement which supports our mission of providing the adjutant general with [qualified] Soldiers that are fit, trained and ready to deploy in support of the Wisconsin Army National Guard."

How To Think In Century 21? By Andres Agostini

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF THINKING THAT JOINTLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY MUST BE EXERCISED BY A LEADER TO FIRST GUESS THE FUTURE RIGHT? By Copyright 2010 Andres Agostini --All Rights Reserved --

Quickly stated and when invoking THINKING – as per the undersigned – it is succinctly to say and DO (that is) by way of example:

"Terra Incognita" Thinking

Weird Science's Thinking

"Einsteinian Gedanke" Thinking

Ecological Thinking

Factory Thinking

Surprise-Free Thinking

Through-Paradoxes Thinking

Qualitative Thinking

Quantitative Thinking

Unconventionally-Uncommon Thinking

Weirdo’s Thinking

Weird Science's Thinking

“Rara Avis” Thinking

Gestalt Thinking

“Edisonian Research” Thinking

Epidemiologic Thinking

Entomological Thinking

Fuzzy-Logic Thinking

Non-Linear Thinking

Scenario-Method Thinking

Unconventional Thinking

Unorthodox Thinking

“À la Quantum Mechanics” Thinking

“A Priori” Thinking

“A Posteriori” Thinking

“A Cappella” Thinking

Peripheral Thinking

Epicentric Thinking

Multi-Level Thinking

Pluri-Filter Thinking

Multidimensional Thinking

Cross-Functional Thinking

Trans-Contextual Thinking

Cross-Referenced Thinking

“Against the whole cliche of the moment” Thinking

“Against Sloppy, Emotional” Thinking

“Against Fashionable” Thinking

“Against Inexpensive” Thinking

In-Advance Thinking

Early-On Thinking

"Post Mortem" Thinking

Forensic Thinking

Pre-Forensic Thinking

"Short-Term and Long-Term" Thinking

Preemptive Thinking

Counter-Intuitiveness Thinking

Womb-to-Tomb Thinking

Unthinkable Thinking

Undreamed-of Thinking

Un-daydreamed-of Thinking

Heterodox Thinking

Un-Commonsensical Thinking

Illogicality Thinking

Throughput Thinking

Multi-Perspective Thinking

Pseudo-Serendipitous Thinking

"Pre Mortem" Thinking

Pre-“Post Mortem” Thinking

“Primum nocere” Thinking

“Primum non nocere” Thinking

Cosmological Thinking

Comprehensive Thinking

Interdisciplinary Thinking

Exploratory Thinking

Naturalist Thinking

Preter-Naturalist Thinking

Spacewalk Thinking

Discontinuous-Progression Thinking

Exuberant Thinking

“Applied Omniscience Knowledge” Thinking

Hyper-Geometrical Thinking

Dense Thinking

Multi-tasking Thinking

In-Series Thinking

In-Parallel Thinking

Microscopic Thinking

Macroscopic Thinking

Telescopic Thinking

Engineering Thinking

Re-Engineering Thinking

“Over-Hauled Re-Engineering” Thinking

Systems Thinking

Throughout Thinking

“Alpha and Omega” Thinking

Composite Thinking

Aggregated Thinking

Compounded Thinking

Parenthetic Thinking

Inventor’s Thinking

Discoverer’s Thinking

Harmonic Thinking

Counter-seeing Thinking

Counter-envisioning Thinking

Multi-Range Thinking

Pluri-Intent Thinking

GPS Thinking

Sonar Thinking

Radar Thinking

Horse-Seeing Thinking

Helicopter Thinking

Interconnected Thinking

Submarine Thinking

Interdependency Thinking

Forethought Thinking

Hindsight Thinking

Multifaceted Thinking

Wholeness Thinking

“Continuous Improvement and Innovation” Thinking

Alternatives-Exploring Thinking

Systemwide Thinking

“Support Learning and Change” Thinking

Specificity Thinking

Eagle Scouts Soar in Intel Battalion

By Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke
National Guard Bureau

July 29, 2010 - The Utah National Guard's 141st Military Intelligence Battalion will deploy to Iraq in a few weeks with 83 soldiers who have earned Eagle Scout badges from the Boy Scouts of America. "It's easy being a battalion commander of Eagle Scouts, because you don't have to worry about them," said Army Lt. Col. Matt Price, the battalion commander and a scout leader for his sons, who include three Eagle Scouts. "They have high values, because they have been taught that as young men. You can trust them."

The 286-member unit is in field training at its pre-mobilization site, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

During a recent meeting with civilian employers, Price said, he asked all the Eagle Scouts in the room to stand. Almost half of his unit stood up. So during the next battalion formation, the Eagle Scouts were asked to stay behind for a group photo. That is when they counted off as 83 Eagle Scouts representing all ranks and many military occupational specialties.

The unit's senior noncommissioned officer, Army Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Lofland, is a scout master.

"We feel like [part of the] the scout program," Price said. "To me, the Scout Law is similar to Army values."

Price said he believes Robert Baden Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts, would be proud of his creation. "We're celebrating 100 years of Boy Scouting this year, and if he could look back and see what is going on, he would be quite happy."

In Iraq, the battalion will conduct human intelligence missions with Iraqi security forces. "We will be directly training and advising them how to do force protection," Price said.

Price said he appreciates the uniqueness of his citizen-soldiers. They are older and college educated, with more real-world experience as teachers and police officers, he noted.

"I am bringing a group of community leaders with me to Iraq," he said.

Price said his Eagle Scouts also bring additional skills to the Guard. "The Boy Scout program itself teaches young men to be men," he said. "You teach them values. ... You are teaching them survivability skills. They are used to camping, and used to roughing it."

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men, according to published reports. The title is held for life.

Between the ages of 12 and 18, a Scout will work to achieve Eagle rank by earning 12 required merit badges and nine elective merit badges. He also must demonstrate "Scout Spirit" through the Boy Scout oath and law and through community service and leadership, which includes an extensive service project that the Scout plans, organizes, leads and manages.

Earning the Eagle Scout's badge was "the only thing I had done in my life that led me to think that I could make a difference; that I could be a leader," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told an estimated crowd of 45,000 gathered on 12,000 acres on Fort A.P. Hill, Va., as part of the annual National Scout Jamboree yesterday.

"It was the first thing I had done that told me I might be different, because I had worked harder, was more determined, more goal-oriented, more persistent than most others," Gates said.

Price said the key to scouting is service to others.

"To be able to protect yourself and your family but also look outwards and help others," he said. "These are different kinds of soldiers. They look beyond themselves. We are bringing a higher quality of citizen-soldier with us who is looking for ways to help other people."

Gates Shares Common Experiences, Vision With Scouts

By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service

July 28, 2010 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today shared his personal experiences and passion for Boy Scouting with tens of thousands of Scouts and their families gathered for the 100th anniversary celebration of the Boy Scouts of America. "Scouting has been a big part of my life and my family's life," Gates told an estimated crowd of 45,000 gathered on 12,000 acres on Fort A.P. Hill, Va., as part of the annual National Scout Jamboree.

Gates, an Eagle Scout who has served on the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts and is past president of the National Eagle Scout Association, shared his experiences growing up as a Boy Scout, earning scouting's top rank 52 years ago, and being involved in his son's Boy Scout troop. Even after serving eight presidents and years of working with world leaders, the secretary said, his memories of his Scout leaders are just as memorable.

Noting that their lives were "a bit unusual," Gates told of going on a father-son camping trip when he was CIA director. "A hundred yards from our encampment were three, large black vans, a satellite dish, and a number of armed security officers surrounding the campsite," he said. "Now there's a challenge no Scoutmaster could have anticipated."

Gates told the Scouts he was speaking to them "as a leader from one generation talking with the leaders of the next generation," and said he was like most of them when he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout at age 15.

"I wasn't a straight-A student, nor was I a particularly good athlete," he said. "I wasn't really a student leader." When he arrived in Washington, D.C., at age 22 to begin work at the CIA, he said, "I could fit everything I owned into the back seat of my car. I had no connections and I didn't know a soul."

Earning the Eagle Scout's badge was "the only thing I had done in my life that led me to think that I could make a difference; that I could be a leader," he said to applause. "It was the first thing I had done that told me I might be different because I had worked harder, was more determined, more goal-oriented, more persistent than most others."

The secretary told the Scouts some of them will go on to be leaders in industry, the government and the military. But most importantly, he said, scouting has set them on the path to "becoming a man of integrity and decency, a man of moral courage, a man unafraid of hard work, a man of strong character – the kind of person who built this country and made it the greatest democracy and the greatest economic powerhouse in the history of the world.

"A scout is marked for life as an example of what a boy and man can be and should be," he continued. "You are role models."

In the past 100 years, Gates said, there has been no better program for preparing future leaders than the Boy Scouts. "The fate of our nation in the years to come and the future of the world itself depend on the kind of people we modern Americans prove to be," he said.

The secretary acknowledged that much has changed in the 50 years since he was a Boy Scout.

"We live in an America today where the young are increasingly physically unfit and society as a whole languishes in ignoble moral ease," he said. "But not in scouting."

There are too many places in American life today without the Boy Scouting values of self-reliance, self-control, honor, integrity and morality, Gates said. "From Wall Street to Washington to our hometowns," he said, "in all our lives there are people who seek after riches or the many kinds of power without regard to what is right or true or decent.

"I am here today because I believe in the extraordinary power of scouting to be a force for good in a community and in the lives of its boys and young men," he continued. "As I look out at all of you, I see the legacy of scouting: a new generation of worthy leaders. ...With leaders such as you, America will continue to be the beacon of hope and decency and justice for the rest of the world."

Air Force selects LATINA award winners

Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – The Air Force recently selected its two winners of the 2010 National LATINA Symposium Distinguished Service Award.

The award honors the servicemember and civilian employee who demonstrate distinguished performance and display exceptional character as role models representing the Hispanic community with dignity and pride.

This year’s winners are Master Sgt. Sandra Nunes, 56th Medical Group at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., and Julie Moran, National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

Sergeant Nunes managed pharmacy operations leading 38 personnel and executing a $13 million budget. She assisted the 69-member humanitarian mission “Beyond the Horizon” as an interpreter in the Dominican Republic benefitting 8,600 local residents who received critical medical care. Additionally, she evaluated the Maricopa County Public Health Department’s bioterrorist attack readiness during its 2009 exercise.

Ms. Moran led a team of 25 analysts in making sure data from the first $162 million component of the Space Based Infrared System would be accessible to the intelligence community on schedule. She also led the development of a $52 million system for advanced infrared intelligence processing and dissemination.

For more information on this and other Air Force recognition programs, visit the Air Force Personnel Center personnel services website at https://gum.afpc.randolph.af.mil/ or call the Total Force Service Center toll-free at (800) 525-0102 or DSN 665-5000.

Logistics Analyst Excels in Leadership Program

By Dianne Ryder
Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Communications Office

July 28, 2010 - When Betty Hoapili was selected to attend the Department of Defense's Executive Leadership Development Program, she got the chance to walk in a warfighter's shoes. The 23-year civil service veteran, a logistics program analysis officer on the Defense Logistics Agency's Air Force Customer Support Team in the Operations and Sustainment Division of DLA Logistics Operations, was looking to complement her career path when she responded to the program's call for nominations through DLA's Executive Development Program.

One of the program requirements was to complete a staff study. Hoapili's study focused on the Defense Department's acquisition community and its ability to handle the impending wave of retirements projected in the next five years.

"I looked at whether or not the [defense] acquisition career field is headed for ... a 'brain drain' and developed possible courses of action," she said.

Hoapili said she prepared herself for the various types of training and temporary duty assignments, which took place one to two weeks each month for 10 months -- a total of 95 days. She also needed to keep up with her regular workload, which she said helped her learn about juggling priorities.

At the program orientation, Hoapili said, her instructors told participants they were lucky to have been selected.

"One of the things they said to us was, 'You 61 people have won the lottery,' [because] there were 600 applicants, she recalled. The participants were split into six teams, including one military member per team, Hoapili said.

The first "deployment" was to core training at the Southbridge Conference Center in Southbridge, Mass., where Hoapili said team members were challenged physically, mentally and emotionally.

Team members had to complete a fitness test – sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups – to ensure they could safely participate in the program's demanding activities.

"[Early] the next morning ... those who had not passed any aspect of the physical testing had to report to the gym area and were going to focus on additional training," she said.

Although Hoapili and her teammates had passed the physical test, she said she went to the gym anyway to help other program members prepare for the re-test. It was a proud moment when those members passed the test too, Hoapili said.

At another deployment, she volunteered for a swimming challenge at the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL School at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, Calif. The challenge involved swimming in full military gear out to a Navy SEAL positioned in the ocean.

"It was very scary because of the significant undertow and the crashing waves. ... There was one point where I thought, 'I wonder if I'm going to drown.' [But] when I made it back to the beach and the rest of my teammates were cheering me, I knew I'd challenged myself to do my best. That's why I [volunteered]," Hoapili said.

One of the program's key tenets involves showing participants they can do more than they'd thought, she said.

"That's the starting point for any good leader, ... knowing your capabilities and pushing yourself ... to see what you can do when faced with a tough challenge, ... to go one step beyond what you thought you could do," she said.

"How to adapt to changing circumstances is part of the skill set that this program was teaching me," Hoapili said.

After the swimming challenge, program members were required to drag an inflatable raft up and down the beach and then complete an obstacle course.

Despite being driven to physical exhaustion on that California beach, Hoapili said, her biggest challenge was yet to come at the U.S. Army Ranger School, at Fort Benning, Ga.

Standing on top of a 75-foot tower and stepping off to rappel down was more of a mental challenge for Hoapili, one she wasn't sure she could do.

"That first step took a lot of faith on my part, [but I had] confidence in my equipment and confidence in the instructors that were there ... assuring me they had my back," she said.

During times when she was less confident in her abilities, Hoapili said, she repeated a mantra to herself.

"Leaders are tough; leaders are strong; leaders can do these things," she said.

Still, Hoapili credits her accomplishments to her team's never-ending support.

"I was blessed with an amazing team of people. We called ourselves 'Team High Five.' ... Those 10 people became a family. ... We were there for each other. It goes back to working on behalf of warfighters; [they] were my warfighters, and I didn't want let them down, and we refused to leave anyone behind," Hoapili said.

Each year during graduation ceremonies, one class member is awarded special recognition. This year, Hoapili was awarded that distinction and presented the Rosemary E. Howard Leadership Award. She was unaware she would be receiving the peer-nominated award.

"To be nominated by your peers is an extreme honor," Hoapili said. "When I read the award's inscription: 'Based on Courage, Determination, Leadership and Professionalism,' I was very humbled," she said.

Hoapili said she took two lessons away from her experience in the program. The first was a reinforcement of a lesson learned from her father.

"My dad is a retired Air Force chief master sergeant; he always taught me the backbone of our armed forces is our enlisted corps," she said. "That was reinforced to me ... because at every deployment, the individuals who were teaching me, ... training me, ... equipping me were all [noncommissioned officers]."

The second take-away is the power of teamwork, she said.

"Not only did my teammates have my back, but trained, amazing warfighters had my back as well. [I value] the whole concept of courage and compassion and competence in terms of strong leadership and what's expected of us as future civilian leaders," she said.

Gary Gonthier, a performance-based logistics program manager in DLA Aviation's Strategic Customer Engagement Branch was also on Hoapili's team.

"Betty was a welcome member of the team. ... [She] is socially gregarious, which manifests itself in the precious attention she paid to both organizational and personal details," he said.

The combination of Hoapili's interpersonal style, which included offering praise and other affirmations to participants, set against a backdrop of structure, schedules and order made her a compassionate leader, Gonthier said.

"She left no doubt when team members performed well, yet also made clear those instances when things didn't go so well. Betty always placed the concern of others above her own self-interest," he said.

This year marked the first occasion that program participants traveled to Kuwait. Though they spent just 72 hours there, both Hoapili and Gonthier agreed that the program instilled them with a greater appreciation for military service members.

Gonthier said the program provides civilian personnel with a hands-on approach to learning what warfighters do on a daily basis.

"The ... members from each of the services are truly dedicated to what they do and [are] wholeheartedly supported by the family that follows ... them," he said. "They are highly trained and ready to do whatever it takes to defend this nation, including giving their lives. We should never forget that."

Hoapili agreed and said it's an experience civilians rarely, if ever, get.

"It's invaluable in enhancing my understanding of what our warfighters go through, the sacrifices they make ... on our behalf, and how important it is for us to do our jobs extremely well so they can do what we're asking them to do," she said.

Recently, Hoapili found out she was selected for another training opportunity – the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. She credits DLA for giving her the chance to display her leadership qualities in the ELDP. At DLA, developing employees' skills and abilities is a high priority, so high it falls into agency Director Navy Vice Adm. Alan Thompson's list of top initiatives.

"I'm anxious now to give back to DLA for having given me this opportunity," Hoapili said.

She added that she's a "huge proponent" of the ELDP program and noted that as the Rosemary E. Howard Award winner, she gets to go to orientation for next year's program and speak to incoming participants.

"In so many ways, I do wish I was doing it again - not so much the crawling through the mud, ... but it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," she said. "I look at the pictures and think, 'How did I do that?' But you do it one day at a time and with a whole lot of help from your friends."

Why integrity first?

Commentary by Lt. Col. Randy Huiss
14th Airlift Squadron

7/27/2010 - JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. (AFNS) -- "In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."

-- Warren Buffet, the chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway.

A number of years ago, while interviewing for a flying assignment, I was asked a simple question, "Which Air Force core value do you consider the most important?" I immediately thought to myself," Finally, an easy question.

Then answered with a simple "Integrity first."

That interview was approximately 12 years ago, but my response today would be exactly the same.

Why integrity first? While I expanded my answer during the interview, I simply pointed to a few different examples that all revolved around being able to trust the word of those around you without having to question whether or not what was said was true.

For example, a simple question to the crew chief asking, "How's the jet?" and getting a response, "Good to go, sir." Is it? I sure hope the maintainer has integrity when he tells me this as my life and those on board with me are counting on him and the rest of the maintenance team each and every time I strap the jet onto my back.

The same holds true with the pilot sitting next to me or my loadmaster in the back. How about the weight of the cargo being loaded? It is imperative that the "port dawg" does his job correctly and avoids cutting corners. Otherwise, I may be unknowingly handed a jet that is out of "balance," which could have deadly consequences. Our profession is a dangerous one, but most of all, it is one that requires teamwork and trust to be successful.

Integrity goes well beyond answering simple questions honestly though. Your personal "integrity meter" should have absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you get caught. If it is wrong, it is wrong ... period. Is the Article 15 and $1,500 fine worth the $65 cab ride that you supposedly "lost" the receipt for? I think not, but integrity issues go well beyond any monetary figure associated with them. Once you have lost the trust of those around you, you may never gain it back.

Additionally, there is always the "man in the mirror" who will be looking at you every day knowing the true story. I need to be able to count on the honesty and integrity of those around me as they require the same of me. Otherwise, we are merely fooling ourselves and destined to fail.

I have been extremely lucky throughout the course of my career to work with some absolutely incredible people. I have witnessed way more good examples of integrity than bad, as we are held to a higher moral and ethical standard than our civilian counterparts ... and we should be. We should never sacrifice our own standards or integrity because "everyone else is doing it." We should be setting the example and making those around us better.

Maria Razumich-Zec said, "Your reputation and integrity are everything. Follow through on what you say you're going to do. Your credibility can only be built over time, and it is built from the history of your words and actions."

As your integrity and reputation are built over time, they can also be destroyed in an instance of weakness. Never allow this to happen. It always takes less time to do the right thing, then to have to explain why you chose to do it wrong.

Finally, I leave you with a quote I found by Francis Bacon Sr. whose meaning is really quite simple ... with integrity you are judged on your actions, not simply your words: "It's not what we eat, but what we digest that makes us strong; not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; and not what we profess, but what we practice that gives us integrity."

Barksdale AFB hosts CAP Louisiana Wing Encampment

by Senior Airman Chad Warren
2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs

7/27/2010 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. (AFNS) -- For the 13th consecutive year, the Louisiana Wing Civil Air Patrol Cadet Encampment was held here July 15 through 25.

The encampment is a 10-day course designed to give young CAP cadets the opportunity to experience Air Force customs and get an up-close look at various military careers.

This year's CAP encampment helped prepare more than 60 cadets for military life.

"I have been involved with CAP for 34 years since I was a 14-year-old cadet in the Florida Wing," said Lt. Col. Paul Griffith, of the 2nd Bomb Wing plans and programs, and liaison to the Louisiana CAP. "The cadet program did so much in helping to prepare me to become a member of the Air Force that I feel privileged to give back all the time and efforts I can to help the next generation of cadets who will then become future military leaders."

The cadets were able to tour Barksdale AFB and visit numerous units such as the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron fire department and the 2nd Security Forces Squadron military working dog section. They also visited with crewmembers of the B-52 Stratofortress, and received training from Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialists.

"It has been really nice to have access to all of the things we have," said Cadet 1st Lt. Ashley McDonald, a cadet commander. "We are very lucky cadets to be able to see firsthand what the Air Force is really like."

The CAP was founded by citizens concerned about the safety of the U.S. coastline, one week before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December 1941. Now, there are more than 56,000 members nationwide, with 21,000 cadets aged 12 to 20.

The CAP program is broken into 52 wings across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, each of which hosts encampments open to CAP cadets. For a CAP cadet encampment to be certified, it must provide 40 hours of curriculum consisting of military knowledge and familiarization.

The Louisiana Wing Cadet Encampment, which includes cadets from all over Louisiana and parts of Texas, is supported by 21 base agencies and consists of 82 hours of hands-on curriculum.