Sometimes there’s too much red in my blue

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Angela Pope
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AFPN) --  Too often, my blue pride has me seeing red.

I am proud of the uniform I wear, and so are many others. But the Airmen who show no pride are the ones who distort my vision.

This typically happens off base, where the image we present is the most crucial. I have seen several things that make me wince, from Airmen walking around cursing to wearing a saggy, wrinkled or sloppy uniform.

My latest cringe happened while I was escorting news media on the flight line. A crew chief was talking to his buddies, spitting out every curse word in the book. Even though this was on base, it happened in the vicinity of the media who are the eyes, ears and voice of the public.

Fortunately, they didn’t hear the Airman and our image remained intact.

For most civilians though, the occasional sighting of an Airman at a fast food joint or the grocery store is their only interaction with the military. And when they see an Airman acting foolish, some may assume we are all like that.

Sure everyone slips from time to time and breaks a uniform rule, like walking and talking on a cell phone in uniform, but we should try to make those slips few and far between.

Even though it is usually junior enlisted members I see acting up downtown, I know I can’t place the blame solely in their hands. If they are exposed to poor leadership early in their career, they assume their actions are acceptable. And you know what they say about assumptions.

As a young NCO and a former instructor, I know the importance of early guidance and setting a good example for young Airman.

I have always been very conscious of Air Force regulations, and I passed that down to my students. I made every effort to continue the ‘bluing’ process they underwent at basic and were still exposed to back at the squadrons.

I strived to make sure my students didn’t end up on any “hot list” as so many often do.

Education and enforcement are critical to starting Airmen off right and keeping them that way.

But, that trend shouldn’t stop once they leave technical school.

In the presence of bad examples, there is absolutely nothing wrong with an Airman saying “I know better than that, and I will do better than that,” and encouraging others to do the same. They shouldn’t be afraid to take the initiative and make things right.

It is everyone’s job, from the most junior to the most senior, to step up and set the bar high.

Though it may have been awhile since some of us were first blued, we should stay that way all the time. True colors don’t run, nor do they fade.