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Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians

Commentaries

  • 'Buy in': Do you have it?

    "Buy in." Is it a buzz word for the not quite committed? Today's continuously changing military environment requires people who can adapt to change, think on their feet, make decisions and think through problems and issues, all for mission accomplishment. So what does this have to do with buy in? If

  • Leadership must be earned daily -- with RESPECT

    Leadership is not given, ordained or a right. It doesn't come from position or rank. Leadership must be earned every day. Any Airman can be a leader as long as he is disciplined in his positive daily habits. Andrew Carnegie once said, "The older I get, the less I listen to what people say and the

  • Vector check: Why do you serve?

     In recent weeks, there's been a lot of chatter at the water coolers about the future of the Air Force. Folks are concerned, and it's evident from their comments: Is my contract going to get cut? What about retirement benefits? Forget doing more with less, soon we'll be doing everything with

  • Tips for your journey to becoming a more effective professional

    As a relatively new member of the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment team, I recently had the opportunity to share with a group of our branch leaders the philosophy I follow as a professional Airman.Here are the tips I shared with them to help in their journey to becoming a more

  • Commander issues 9/11 message to deployed personnel at 380th AEW

    Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Lofgren, the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing commander, issued the following 9/11 message to the deployed warriors at the 380th  Air Expeditionary Wing.Warriors,On this day, take a moment to reflect on that horrible day from which we draw strength and conviction to move forward in

  • Never stop trying

    As Sept. 11 approaches, I find myself once again in Afghanistan, this time for a year. This mission is different from the last. Instead of supporting missions to "seek out and destroy the enemy," I am here to train members of the Afghan Air Force on how to do my job: aircrew flight equipment. I'm

  • Leaving the kids at home

    When my wife and I had our first child, it was difficult to convince her to get a babysitter and take an evening off. On those rare occasions when she did take a break, my wife would leave a list of dozens of instructions for the sitter, which amused me to no end. As our girls have grown older and

  • Escort mission of downed Air Force pilot brings perspective

    On March 26, 1970, Maj. Richard Elzinga was flying in an O-1 Birddog on one of his first missions in the Vietnam War, when the plane lost contact and presumably went down in Laos. Until just recently, Elzinga was classified as missing in action.In early July 2011, I had the solemn honor to escort

  • Not a dirty word

    After only a few years of service, I considered "mentoring" a dirty word. It got paid a lot of lip service, but I didn't think most leaders really got it. Don't get me wrong. I've had some outstanding mentors who have helped me over the years. But there were other "mentors" who were worthless. Some

  • Talking natural disasters with kids

    I got a call from the school counselor Aug. 24 about my son. An earthquake that had rattled windows and walls on the East Coast the day before also had rattled my 7-year-old.Yesterday, he was so nervous about an aftershock that his teacher sent him down the hall to the counselor to talk about his