Oct. 21, 2011 Hold the Line: For motivational styles, consider past, glean from it One of the best lessons in leadership I've learned was from watching Harrison Ford. Not him specifically, but if you'll recall, one of the "Indiana Jones" movies was centered on the Crusades.After watching that particular movie, I started to read a lot about medieval history and, in particular, the
Oct. 3, 2011 Hold the Line: Respecting what we represent As patriotic Americans, our hearts pound at the sight of the American Flag -- its 13 stripes and 50 stars being unfurled ... the red, white, and blue ... affectionately named "Old Glory." She flies on military installations, in school yards, at ball parks, at the top of the White House and in
Aug. 2, 2011 My educational journey: Practice what you preach Growing up in a small town near Dayton, Ohio, I never dreamed of going to college. My goals were quite simple: play sports and graduate high school. Once those goals were met, I did think briefly about college, but I had no idea what to study -- and that lead me my local recruiter. In May 2000, I
Aug. 2, 2011 Commentary: Culture of correcting standards Do our Airmen set and correct standards on a day-to-day basis? In the Air Force, do we have the "culture of correcting standards"? I think we do a great job in correcting each other with regard to our specific career field tasks. However, we don't do a very good job at correcting standards that make
July 25, 2011 Commentary: Invest in your people ... they are worth it! | VIDEO As a leader and senior NCO, I have many responsibilities -- ranging from ensuring the day-to-day job gets done to caring for Airmen. During the course of a normal day, there is no shortage of projects, tasks and suspenses reminding me there are still 101 jobs that need to be accomplished. The
July 6, 2011 Commentary: Now, that is mentoring About 10 years ago, after enlightening me with, no doubt, another gem of wisdom that went over my head, the colonel said to me, "now, that's mentoring!" Years later, I'm beginning to understand what mentoring really is and that we can easily miss it, even when it's right in front of us. We often
June 16, 2011 Commentary: Founding fathers’ ideals of independence upheld today We all enjoy a great many freedoms. Over the July 4th weekend, many of us will get together for a cookout or to watch fireworks with friends and family as we celebrate our nation's 235th birthday. While we certainly look forward to those activities, we should also use the holiday as an opportunity
May 18, 2011 Commentary: On Memorial Day, take a lesson from the Old Guard The exact origins of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, are not known. It was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, that a day should be observed nationwide as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation. That
March 11, 2011 Commentary: Doing the Basics ... Can you imagine getting up to go to work today and forgetting to put on your socks? It would make you uncomfortable, you might get a blister, and you would be out of uniform. The reason we put our socks on is that it is a basic thing we do to complete our uniform and keep ourselves healthy and safe
March 1, 2011 My educational journey: CCAF Poster Child Imagine a photo of a smiling couple on a desk. They are smiling because they had just returned from the man's Air Force retirement ceremony. I, John Rady, am the man in that photo. I retired from active duty in Aug. 2001 after spending 23 years in the Air Force as a member of the Security