Commanders set pace, ensure victory

  • Published
  • By Col. David C. Wesley
  • Commandant, AF Judge Advocate General's School
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  I recently read an editorial in the local base newspaper. The author, a current squadron commander, discussed ways in which the manpower cuts endured by our Air Force have driven Airmen to adopt a new philosophy.

He said: "...'do more with less' has evolved into 'do less with less.' Recently, the phrase 'do what you can with what you have' has become commonplace. As a new commander, this phrase not only makes the most sense, but more importantly, it provides guidance to the commander as well as the youngest Airman."

I note from the outset that being a new commander is a very challenging job. There are a vast array of new responsibilities to assume and many time-consuming tasks requiring frequent assessment and reassessment of priorities.

I suspect that as the author settles into his new command role, he will find what so many leaders have discovered before him: Command entails getting the mission accomplished through the efforts of Airmen who may not know what their true capabilities are.

I'm confident the author and those who share his view want what is best for our Air Force, but they misunderstand a basic truth about the martial profession in which we serve. Airmen don't decide what they can do with the time and resources they are given. Airmen do what their commanders tell them to do and they frequently find that to be a great deal more than they ever thought possible. They accomplish feats of skill and endurance that have made them heroes.

Never contemplating that result, many do these things because they simply take pride in their work, their uniform, and most often, because they know the Airman standing (or flying) next to them relies upon them to get the job done. Failure is simply not an option.

In a world where we continue to glorify the empowerment of the individual, I write to express the firm conviction that military service is not about what I as an Airman think about my job or my additional duties or the manpower cuts.

Rest assured, I have strong views on all these topics and some of my opinions would be completely inconsistent with those of senior Air Force leaders. But those personal views have nothing to do with my duty as an Airman to carry out the mission assigned to me.

When I cannot follow orders for moral reasons or because I believe an order is unlawful, I disobey those orders at my peril and I must be prepared to accept the consequences of doing so. For too long, our service culture has drifted toward that of the industries who build the weapons we employ, so that we now find ourselves in a state where we're completely comfortable challenging every single thing our leaders say because it doesn't suit our own personal view of the world or our particular place in the larger scheme.

Each of us voluntarily raised our right hand, swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and assumed the duty to obey those appointed over us. Professional warriors leave behind the selfish tendency to place personal comfort above the mission.

No longer do we challenge every requirement our superiors place upon us. Instead of standing by waiting to be given details of what to do, we seek the initiative, and we get the job done. We are part of a large, lethal Air Force charged with the defense of a way of life that we cannot fully share because we wear the uniform. Our Air Force requires men and women focused on the business of killing, capturing or deterring those who want to destroy America and her allies.

If you're in a leadership job, such as that of a squadron commander, stop telling young Airmen they are the ones to decide how much work is too much. They aren't.  You are. And, when they're worked too hard for too long and something bad happens, that's your responsibility, not theirs.

You have a duty to elevate your manpower/mission concerns through command channels, but not to grouse with subordinates about the workload. There will be some who worry that a commander might abuse his or her authority, but my sense is that the Inspector General, Congress, the media and the general public are all quite capable of ensuring commanders do what's right and that they're punished when they don't.

If you're an Airman, commit yourself to winning this war in a way you can justly be proud of in the years to come. Your leadership needs that and so does our country.