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Kaiserslautern American
April 12, 2013
CHIEF’S CORNER
True greatness by Chief Master Sgt. Lewis Holston Jr. 37th Airlift Squadron superintendent
T
he Air Force’s core value of service before self reminds us that service is not about serving ourselves, or for that matter being served, but is about serving others. Some have missed that point. Do we care enough to lead by example, provide our people the resources necessary to accomplish the mission, and invest the time needed to develop our Airmen? We must serve our people so they can better accomplish the mission. To properly serve others, we must first lead by example. It has been said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. If so, which of your qualities are your subordinates imitating? The examples we set will last longer than our tenure. We need to show through our actions the example of the true servant leader. We must keep this tenet in mind: Airmen will not know it until you show it. Furthermore, to help others strive for greatness, we need to provide the right resources. We shouldn’t require our people to come up with the appropriate equipment and training on their own — that won’t work. By placing the right tools in the hands of the right people, we can better hope to get the mission done right the first time. If our service does not include this principle we will never truly achieve greatness. Taking the time to deliberately develop our Airmen will also set us on the course to true greatness. Co-mingled with our example and the correct resources is the need to invest the time to develop our Airmen. The demands on today’s Air Force are increasing. Airmen are embracing a new normal that places high demands on our units and our families. In situations like this, there is the tendency to place less emphasis on professional development. After all, the mission comes first, right? Professional development is part of our mission. It is worth what some may see as a short term “inconvenience” for the long term return on investment. True greatness cannot be achieved by short changing our people in this area. Again, service before self is not about serving ourselves. It is about leading by example, providing our Airmen the resources to accomplish the mission, and investing the time to deliberately develop our people. Leaders, let’s chart the right course. Aim high — fly, fight, win!
Courtesy photo
Congratulations ALS class 2013-4 Three hundred and fifty-two students graduated from Airman Leadership School April 2 at the Ramstein Officers’ Club. The class started Feb. 28. The five-week program is designed to develop senior airmen into firstline supervisors. Senior Airman Richard Allaire Senior Airman Fernando Andres-Miguel Senior Airman Roland Barrick Senior Airman Eric Batdorff Senior Airman Eric Beavers Senior Airman Brandon Blosser Senior Airman Jonathan Brown Senior Airman William Brown Senior Airman Brian Brozanski Senior Airman Remington Burnette » Leadership Award and Distinguished Graduate Senior Airman Derek Burns Senior Airman Bradley Bussa » Levitow Award Senior Airman Michael Cain Senior Airman James Carter Senior Airman Jillian Chubet Senior Airman Krystal Colon Senior Airman William Crew Senior Airman Jonathan Crouch Senior Airman Dustin Deprey Senior Airman Deandre Dickerson Senior Airman Joshua Driscoll » Distinguished Graduate Senior Airman Thomas Dunbar Senior Airman Kevin Engel Senior Airman Megan Fredrickson Senior Airman A. Garcia Senior Airman Ashlee Gardner Senior Airman Joshua Gilbertson Senior Airman Cody Gonzales Staff Sgt. Roland Gore Senior Airman Sean Graham » Distinguished Graduate Senior Airman Steven Guinazu Senior Airman Charles Hackett Senior Airman James Hamilton Senior Airman Amal Hammack Senior Airman Arthessius Hampton Senior Airman Matthew Henderson » Academic Award and Distinguished Graduate
Senior Airman Luis Hernandez Senior Airman Matthew Hoffman Senior Airman Crystal Hopgood Senior Airman Brett Hudson Senior Airman Kevin Husbands Senior Airman Justin Hyde Senior Airman Nicholas Kern Senior Airman Justin Kirkpatrick Senior Airman Tyler Kurth Senior Airman Jared Laird Senior Airman Nordavid Laturgo Senior Airman Jommel Lazaga Senior Airman Marcel Lee Senior Airman Clee Lee Senior Airman Nicholas Lee Senior Airman Robert Leming Senior Airman Desarae Locklear Senior Airman Matthew Lueke » Distinguished Graduate Senior Airman Ian Mabry Senior Airman Michael Mc Coy Senior Airman James McBride Senior Airman Carl Mendoza Senior Airman Heriberto Mercado Rodriguez Senior Airman Lucas Nichols Senior Airman Connor Olney Senior Airman Jeremy Richardson » Distinguished Graduate Senior Airman Jayme Ross Senior Airman Kaleb Salazar Senior Airman Kevin Sargent Staff Sgt. Jered Sawicky Senior Airman Victoria Schleiger Senior Airman Tanner Schroeder Senior Airman Logan Skrzypczak Senior Airman Kyle Slemmer » Distinguished Graduate Senior Airman Jason Stephan Senior Airman Christine Townsend Senior Airman Jay Troxell Senior Airman John Vreeland Senior Airman Thomas Ward Senior Airman Jaclyn Werner Senior Airman Michael Wilson Senior Airman Whitney Wozniak Senior Airman Robert Young Senior Airman Christopher Zavala