Commentaries

  • Transformational Leadership – Shaping leaders every day

    People seek leaders who are willing to step-up and lead them to prosperity. One contemporary model of leadership is the Transformation Leadership Theory developed by James MacGregor Burns.According to Burns, transformational leaders engage their followers in a mutual process to raise each other to

  • Swipe Left: should you really be "swiping" at all?

    Younger Airmen know what I'm talking about. Older folks, your kids likely know what I'm referring to - I had to get that jab in there - as Tinder, the social dating app for smartphones. The premise is simple. Users create their accounts and based on geolocation, strangers' profiles pop up.Users can

  • Unexpected development

    A few years ago I found myself doubting the Air Force's ability to provide development and mentoring.  I was a new Master Sergeant and had just relocated to the Security Forces Academy.  During my first few months there I quickly realized training pipeline Airmen was the primary focus in the unit,

  • Leading from the middle

    Have you ever heard of middle child syndrome?Psychologists have conducted studies on the behavior of individuals in correspondence to their placement in the family. The oldest child typically has the characteristics of a "leader" and is often "confident" in their role as leader, while the youngest

  • Building leadership

    My first weekend in Wichita Falls, Texas I joined a volunteer organization to help with a Saturday project. The experience taught me a great deal about leadership, service, and the Air Force.When I arrived to the site early Saturday morning, I introduced myself to a gentlemen standing to the left of

  • Change ... A love and hate relationship

    What Does Everyone Love to Hate? Change! The more pressing question is why do most people hate change?There are some people who love change, and embrace it as an opportunity to break from the "norm." Those people are mature in the change process and are considered to have adaptability. Adaptability

  • Asking for help is sign of strength not weakness

    Growing up I was a big fan of Muhammad Ali. He was the world heavyweight boxing champion and unashamedly referred to himself as "The Greatest." I vividly remember a reporter asking Ali, "When did you know that you were 'The Greatest?'" Before Ali could answer, the reporter offered, "Perhaps it was

  • Airmen earn coveted spurs

    Two 82nd security forces Airmen from Sheppard deployed at the 455th Expeditionary Base Defense Squadron, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, were inducted into the Order of the Combat Spur from the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division. Senior Airman Dustin Martin and Airmen 1st Class Carmen Pontello was part of

  • LGBT Pride Month and a History of its Pioneers

    A great American reformer and abolitionist of the 19th century, Theodore Parker, once wrote, "I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by

  • Stormwater Pollution Control Measures

    Stormwater runoff is the water produced by rain, snow and other forms of precipitation. It is absorbed by lawns and other unpaved surfaces. Construction activities often transform permeable surfaces into impervious ones, such as roads, parking lots and buildings. Rather than being absorbed as part