Commentaries

Commander sends holiday thoughts, wishes to Andrews
December 20, 2007 — Dianna and I wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season. Hopefully all of you will have the opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends over the next couple of weeks. This time of year we have the opportunity to reflect on the successes and blessings we experienced during 2007. For those of us in uniform our personal and Service... MORE

Questions seeking answers on a December Friday morning
December 7, 2007 — Commanders, Chiefs, family members serving in our great Air Force, former co-workers, fellow running enthusiasts and Marvin Nation Members: As I prepare to PCS this month, I want to discuss my goals for 2008 and for the final three years of my 30-year USAF career. Holidays and PCS moves are great times to reflect on accomplishments and think about... MORE

Making those career choices
November 29, 2007 — Have you ever thought that your current job is not for you and want to try something new? Would you think that someone could actually be on their fifth AFSC? Well look no further, that person is me. When I entered the Air Force I started out as a security specialist back in the day when the current Security Forces career field was actually two... MORE

AFDW commander emphasizes "Spirit of Giving"
November 20, 2007 — I want to thank all of the Airmen in the District for their contributions to the Combined Federal Campaign thus far. As of today, more than 99 percent of the Airmen within the Air Force District of Washington and our partner units have been contacted with the information necessary to make a contribution. The CFC is nearing conclusion and will end... MORE

Have a Happy Thanksgiving
November 20, 2007 — I wish everyone assigned to and living on Andrews a happy Thanksgiving. On Thursday most of us will gather with friends or family to enjoy a great meal and give thanks for our many blessings. Some at Andrews will celebrate Thanksgiving this year on duty. They will be guarding the base, sitting at the ready in the fire station, taking care of... MORE

Step Up to Challenges
November 16, 2007 — In an ever-changing Air Force environment, the number of challenges that we each must face continues to grow. We are challenged by increased deployments, force reductions, and family concerns to name a few. The only acceptable response is to do what you do every day, which is meet the challenges head on. Any challenge can be as simplistic as the... MORE

Trust in Each Other
November 8, 2007 — For most of the base populace, the end of the fiscal year comes and goes with little commotion. For those in the comptroller and contracting career fields, however, it's a period marked by long hours, rapid change, and a great deal of activity at every resource level. The closeout for Fiscal Year 2007 was no different, with Sept. 30 falling on a... MORE

60 Years of Excellence, Marshalling a Superb Future
October 24, 2007 — These are very exciting times for our Air Force and for OSI! We, as a command, are forging new ground every day and significantly expanding our warfighting capabilities. We're on the cutting-edge of cyber warfare, battlefield counter-intelligence and anti-terrorism tactics. The world and the Air Force are changing and so are we. OSI's mission is to... MORE

Individual readiness
October 11, 2007 — We all talk a lot about readiness, but I'm not sure we really think about what that means.As I write this, thousands of Air Force personnel are deployed around the world away from their home stations. This makes the possibility YOU or I will be involved in a deployment very real.Readiness involves both personal and organizational issues. Some of... MORE

Connecting the world
September 27, 2007 — Twenty years ago when you needed a phone number you pulled out the base phone book. When you needed to type a letter, you walked over to the typewriter and painstakingly typed one up, and if you needed to send a message to another base, you typed a DD Form 173 and took it to the Base Communications Center. Today, everyone has access to computers on... MORE

Leadership recognizes, grateful for SAMFOX
September 13, 2007 — As commander and command chief of the 89th Airlift Wing, we have the privilege of seeing outstanding members of Team Andrews answering a higher calling everyday. The result of this is nothing short of magnificent and exemplifies our first and foremost SAMFOX Universal Truth, "Perfection is the standard." Recently, Secretary of the Air Force Wynne... MORE

Are you too comfortable?
September 6, 2007 — OK. I know what you're probably thinking. What can a dentist possibly have to say that I would want to read? After all, a lot of those medics (and especially dentists and doctors) aren't in the real Air Force, right? What do they know about leadership or core values? That's what I thought when I first entered the Air Force in 1985. I was in for 3... MORE

ORM key to safe holidays
September 4, 2007 — Have a good weekend and Be Safe. How many times have you heard that before you started a long weekend? Probably, multiple times. You probably reply, "Thanks, you too", but is that the last time you think about being safe until you return to the office following the weekend? I would suspect for many of us our thoughts about being safe are... MORE

General ready for AFDW's future
June 28, 2007 — Air Force District of Washington, commander Today I took command of the Air Force District of Washington. My wife Sharon and I would like to thank everyone for the great welcome. I am thrilled for the opportunity to command AFDW and build upon your accomplishments under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Robert L. Smolen. I am eager to get out and meet... MORE

Time gone bye
June 22, 2007 — Time flies when you are having fun, and it seems like just the other day that I accepted the twin guidons signifying the Air Force District of Washington and the Air Force National Capital Region. What an amazing time this has been! We stood the command up at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., reorganized Andrews and stood up the 316th Wing,... MORE

Base commander thanks Team Andrews
January 16, 2007 — Let me welcome everyone back from the holidays and wish you all a safe, successful and prosperous 2007. 2006 was a time of change for Andrews Air Force Base as we experienced the stand-up of the 79th Medical Wing, stand-up of the 316th Wing and the transition of Andrews from Air Mobility Command to the Air Force District of Washington as the host... MORE

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