Strive for gold-medal standard

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. H.B. Brual
  • 91st Operations Support Squadron commander
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (AFPN) --  Over the past week, I’ve been watching the world’s best athletes compete in numerous sporting events at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. During the television coverage of the games and the post-event interviews, I noticed two common themes from the athletes’ comments. First, the competitors worked extremely hard to prepare for the Olympics, and second, they possessed the desire to be the very best in their respective disciplines.

These two themes bring to mind the phenomenal effort and work ethic of our own Airmen and how our people exemplify the third of our Air Force core values, excellence in all we do.

Similar to the world’s best athletes, Airmen practice and work hard before they are ever called upon to perform their respective tasks. Regardless of career field, we can see it in all of our work centers. Take a moment to look around and you can see our Airmen training for the ultimate competition -- war, where there is no second place. Bottom line: our Airmen are ready because they work hard during the preparation phase of each operation.

The second theme, the desire to be the best, is reflected in the numerous accolades and awards Airmen here have received over the past year. Team Minot has the best security forces squadron and group within the Air Force, the best Air Force services squadron, the best space intercontinental ballistic missile wing at Air Force Space Command’s Guardian Challenge Competition, the best ICBM crew in the Air Force, as well as a multitude of other awards.

But it is important to note that we cannot sit on our past accomplishments, expecting to receive the same laurels and awards without the hard work and sacrifice necessary to be the very best.

Maurice Green ran the men’s 100-meter race in 9.87 seconds, a time equal to his gold-winning performance in the 2000 Olympic Games. Four years later, that same time was only good enough for bronze. The competition continues to improve, and to stay at the top, we must as well.

Teddy Roosevelt was giving a speech at the Sorbonne in Paris and he said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly.”

It is Airmen who deploy, maintain our planes and missiles, and provide security for these great weapons. It is Airmen who preserve our freedom and way of life. And unlike the Olympics, where athletes compete in fields of friendly strife, we serve in a more dangerous and exacting environment.

Our great nation expects – no, deserves -- the very best from all of us, because we cannot afford to receive anything but the gold medal. Therefore, we must continue to improve and strive for excellence in all we do.