Prepare yourself: Read

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Chris Decker
  • 376th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron commander
MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFNS) --  A past wing commander once told me no emotion or feeling is original. As a young lieutenant, I took it as subtle advice that I could learn much from others. If I want to prepare myself for leadership, go study the history of our country and the lives of our country's leaders.

As you make rank and complete your professional military education, you'll find that most of our country's great leaders made it a point to read history and biographies.

Reading played a huge part in their preparation to command during some of the darkest periods of our country's existence. Army Gen. George S. Patton presents just one example. A military historian in his own right, he believed in preparing "for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable."

If you don't know who General Patton is or what he accomplished, I encourage you to pick up a book and read about him.

While deployed, Airmen have a perfect opportunity to study and start preparing for the unknown. Some take classes toward a degree. Some complete their PME. If you are not one of these people, think about productive ways to use your time. Instead of watching TV every day, go check out a book from the base library and start preparing yourself.

If you don't know where to start, the Air Force chief of staff from each of our military services publishes a professional reading list. The base library stocks several books from the lists of past Air Force chiefs of staff. 

Expand your horizons. Prepare for the unknown. Start reading now.

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