Just What We Do

Just What We Do

It had been a 100-hour workweek. An inspection was coming up, problems were cropping up, so our work hours went up. No one told us to work such hours. No one questioned the need for long hours. The mission dictated the workload, so we worked. It was just what we did....
Courage

Courage

People jump out of perfectly good airplanes. That may be a display of courage, but an equally strong argument could be made for recklessness. What is your view of skydiving? It certainly takes trust in the equipment, the packing, the reserve chute. It takes courage to...
If You Can’t Be Honest With Yourself…

If You Can’t Be Honest With Yourself…

“If you can’t be honest with yourself, who can you be honest with?” The lab’s technical director had great one-liners. Maybe he got this one from somewhere, but I had not heard it before. The obvious answer is “no one,” but another valid answer is “God.” In Acts...
Don’t Bury the Lead

Don’t Bury the Lead

Burying the lead means that the most important part of a newspaper article is not mentioned first. Newspaper articles are not meant to be read like stories because readers read ruthlessly. Editors expect readers to skip over articles that they don’t appear relevant,...
We Can’t Keep Quiet

We Can’t Keep Quiet

 Air Force’s first core value is, “Integrity First.” Every airman was required to learn what it meant. Two of the better definitions were: doing what is right even if no one is watching, and doing what is right even when it hurts. It takes courage to live with...