Who do you represent?

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Michael D. Ingersoll
  • 325th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  With the recent departure of the Air Force's Ambassadors in Blue a few weeks ago, I reflected on what it means to represent our great Air Force. Of course the Thunderbirds are a small, hand-picked unit whose mission it is to display the precision, attention to detail, and great professionalism that comprises our United States Air Force. They travel across the globe, offering the American and foreign public a glimpse of the awesome capability, pride and technological edge that our United States Air Force displays daily.

The Thunderbirds have a "show season" and a "training season" where they are either performing airshows around the world or preparing for the following season. I would submit to you that for all of us that wear this uniform, it is always "show season." Why, you might ask? Well, whether you know it or not, as an Airman you are always on display. General George D. Patton, Jr's quote, "A leader should be doubly careful about his dress, appearance, and deportment. You are always on parade," is appropriate in this case. (For those of you that read this and thought "I'm not a commander or chief, I can't be a leader yet,"...not so fast. We are all leaders, every one of us. I can learn just as much from an Airman 1st Class or Senior Airman about leadership as I can from a General.) There are leaders all around us.

We are serving in an age of unprecedented public support for our military. The constant deployments of Airmen, Marines, Soldiers, and Sailors dating back to the first Gulf War (Operation DESERT SHIELD/STORM), and the more recent combat operations, going back almost ten years in Afghanistan and eight years in Iraq, have the American public firmly on our side. We would be foolish not to be anything but the best representatives we can be of our great Air Force. Last fall I was returning from a hometown memorial service for one of my squadron members. I didn't have time to change after the service before I caught my flights back to Panama City, so I took the flights in service dress. I had known of the great public support for the military, but was frankly not expecting the number of people in various airports and flights to approach me and say "Thank you for your service." A bit embarrassed at first, I quickly realized what respect our fellow citizens have for all of us that wear this uniform, and I began answering their "thank you's" with a simple "You're welcome, it's my pleasure to serve."

While I don't profess to be the most qualified person to speak on this subject, let me offer my thoughts on ways that we can be good representatives of our Air Force:

1) Be a Wingman. "I am an American Airman: Wingman, Leader, Warrior. I will never leave an Airman behind. I will never falter, and I will not fail." - USAF Airman's Creed. I cannot think of a better way to verbalize being a good Wingman than our (relatively) new Airman's Creed. This applies to being a good Wingman both on and off-duty. Too many times we have seen preventable Driving Under the Influences, domestic incidents, or quality assurance write-ups that would never have occurred had a Wingman been there, or been paying better attention.

2) Be positive. "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Sir Winston Churchill. You'd be surprised what coming into work every day with a positive attitude does for unit morale and your own duty performance. People respond to positive feedback, encouraging words, and even constructive feedback given in an honest, open manner.

3) Be physically fit. "A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood." - General George S. Patton, Jr. The "new" Air Force PT program is here to stay - we've gone through the initial growing pains of what the program consists of, and Airmen know what the expectations are. But the Physical Training program is about more than a passing score for your Enlisted Performance Report/Officer Performance Report - it's about being ready to bring a fit Air Force Asset to the fight, if called to deploy. Get, and stay, in shape.

4) Know your role. "Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence." - Vince Lombardi. Know how what you do fits into the overall Air Force "big picture," and be able to communicate that when asked what you do. You never know when you'll be recruiting the newest Airman, their mother or father, or friends. Be confident in what you do, and knowledgeable in your part in moving the Air Force mission forward.