Keep it in the 'green'

  • Published
  • By Col. John D. Zazworsky Jr.
  • 89th Operations Group commander
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. (AFPN) --  St. Patrick’s Day started me thinking about the many meanings of the color green.

As an aircrew member, “down, three green” means the landing gear are down and locked and the aircraft is ready to land. At staff meetings, we use red/amber/green stoplight charts to track a program, with green indicating the program is going well. In the maintenance world, a battery indicating “in the green” is fully operational.

On a personal level, I think of my desire to give my all to my profession as the internal “battery” that gives me energy to keep going. If my motivation starts to weaken, then my battery system status has slipped into the amber caution range, and I need to “recharge” that battery.

Our profession is a demanding one with its share of pressures that can weaken our batteries. There are short-term stresses, like covering for a sick coworker, spending a long day at work or adjusting to a short-notice tasking. There are also long-term stresses like an unexpected temporary-duty assignment, long deployments or picking up extra duties for someone deployed from your office.

To help deal with these, we all need some kind of mental reminder of why we serve and why it’s worth putting up with all the challenges of the military way of life. We each need to have our own way to recharge our battery.

I have a few simple ways of recharging my battery: my kids, Airman Leadership School graduations and a picture in my office -- a strange combination, but one that works for me.

First, going home after a long day and being greeted with flying hugs from my kids keeps me grounded in the simple, fundamentally important things of life, despite whatever happened that day at work.

Second, I really enjoy attending ALS graduations. That event never fails to fire me up because of the emotions of the occasion: graduates proud of their accomplishments, excited about the challenges of being an NCO and ready to finish school and get back to their regular workplaces. There are family and friends full of pride for the accomplishment of this milestone. There are peers, supervisors, first sergeants and commanders who are equally proud to see one of their own take an important career step. The mix of past performance, current accomplishment and future potential never fails to make me stand a little taller knowing that another wave of motivated Airmen are ready to add to our Air Force heritage and uphold our core values.

A third thing that helps recharge my battery is the example set by my father. Like many of his generation, he volunteered for the Marine Corps during war time. He went to fight in Korea, where he was seriously wounded and ended up having both legs amputated. He has spent the rest of his life as a quiet example to family and friends showing how faith, courage and determination can prevail in the face of physical and emotional challenges. Next to my desk sits a picture of my father, my infant son and me at the Korean War memorial, in front of the wall inscribed with the simple phrase: “Freedom is not free.” It doesn’t take much more than a glance to remind me that whatever has been getting me down pales in comparison to the sacrifices made by those who went before us.

The energy of my kids and the future they represent, the excitement of ALS graduations and the example set by my father are the things that recharge my battery and get it “back in the green.” What does that for you?

Maybe you have a parent, grandparent or other family member who served in the military and motivated you to join. Maybe you had a teacher, scout leader, clergy or some other role model that helped you develop the character to serve in our military. Or, maybe there is some ceremony or tradition from our rich Air Force heritage that rekindles your pride in serving on this great Air Force team.

As you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with its green decorations, pause to consider the status of your internal battery. Is your battery system status “in the green?”

If it is, then I hope it’s because you’ve found a way to recharge your battery when it needs it. But if your battery has run low, use the green reminders of St. Patrick’s Day to reflect on what motivates you and keeps you going under stress.

Take some time today to consider those things, refocus your attention and motivation, and recharge your internal battery so it’s “back in the green."