21 Aug 2019

The Light Switch Effect

Every day, people across Peterson Air Force Base and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station walk into a room and flip the light switch trusting the lights will turn on without issue. Things happen at the flip of a switch because of the Airmen in the 21st Mission Support Group. We are firefighters, childcare providers, supply technicians, contract specialists, chefs and so much more. We come to work every day and take care of our mission, delivering support to you, the warfighter, so you can take care of your mission. While we make sure the lights turn on literally and figuratively, there is so much more we do. Allow me to introduce you to just a few of the Airmen behind the wall.

21 Aug 2019

21st SW members volunteer on mission trip to Jamaica

The Peterson Air Force Base Chapel sponsored a mission trip to Jamaica, July 30 – Aug. 6, 2019, led by Lt. Col. William Spencer, 21st Space Wing chaplain. On the trip, we had a total of 13 people volunteer to go, 11 were active duty Airmen, spanning across eight different Air Force specialty codes, including civil engineer squadron, finance, religious affairs, public health, travel management office and cyber security. Our goal on this mission trip was to make some renovations and repairs on the Worthington Friends Church in downtown Kingston, Jamaica.

7 Aug 2019

Breastfeeding with PTSD: an Airman resiliency story

I remember sitting in a government-style room inside of the mental health office on Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. I was still on maternity leave with my now three-year-old, Luciano. It was a miracle, because that day he was sleeping in a bucket seat on the floor next to the chair I was sitting in, while I was able to have an adult conversation

6 Aug 2019

The speed of need

The “speed of need” is often how we describe our desired acquisitions pace, or the pace we need to operate at as a force in order to maintain the advantage over our adversaries or competitors. As a squadron commander, I also see it as the speed at which we need to move to retain our most valued resource: people, and more specifically, millennials.

2 Aug 2019

Sexual Assault Prevention

You have been a supervisor in your shop for a little over a six months. Over a few weeks, you begin to notice one of your Airmen just isn’t himself. You’re not quite sure what is causing his change in behavior. His work performance is suffering. The mission is affected. He is withdrawing from his social group at work. You soon find out he is a victim of sexual assault. You try your best to find out what to do, but you are worried you will just make the situation worse. Doing nothing is not the answer. You find out another Airman in your flight is the alleged perpetrator. Now what do you do?

2 Aug 2019

Built to last

Our Air Force is comprised of incredible Airmen who are unmatched in the history of the world and are second to none. While we are part of the greatest Air Force ever assembled, it’s important that from time to time we step back and ask important questions. One question I’d like us to ask is: “Are we built to last?” This is a critical and complex question for every Airman and every leader to think about at every level of our Wing. It starts with analyzing our team at the wing level, asking the same question at an individual Airman level and at every step in between. With that in mind, I’d like to share a few thoughts on leadership and where I will focus in the months ahead.

30 Jul 2019

Training for a triathlon in 10 square feet

As soon as I found out I was coming to Thule Air Base, Greenland, I knew I wanted to take the opportunity to focus on training for triathlons. After not racing as well as I would have liked to at the Armed Forces Triathlon Championships in 2018, I was committed to doing whatever it took to come back more competitive in 2019 to qualify for the World Military Games in Wuhan, China in October. I talked with my coach about the bigger picture goals and the smaller steps we’d need to take along the way, including how (and if) we could accomplish this given how remote Thule is. An Olympic-distance triathlon consists of a one-mile open water swim, a 40 kilometer (24.8 mile) bike ride, and a 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) run. The race pits the best triathletes in each service against each other for a team-scoring event and the competition is always tough.

17 Jul 2019

The “PROPER” Airman

It is always a welcome sight to see our weekly rotator arrive. It means we have new Airmen ready to work on the mission. It also signifies the end of many Airmen’s tours at Thule Air Base, Greenland, the Department of Defense’s northernmost base and home of the 821st Air Base Group, 12th Space Warning Squadron and 23rd Operations Squadron,

8 Jul 2019

Superhuman?

Recognize your strengths, but take the time to identify your weaknesses; don’t allow your shortcomings to limit you. Face them head-on and impose your will.

3 Jul 2019

Your piece of the puzzle matters

When I was 10 years old I hand-wrote a short story about a slave girl’s dreams of a kinder world and fell in love with writing. Then, when I was 21 years old I took out-of-focus photos of a giant yellow leaf drifting down a stream in Hawaii and fell in love with photography. Since those moments, storytelling is all I’ve wanted to do.