Commentary

We have all been asked,

I have just returned from meeting with more than 3,000 Department of Defense health care leaders. Rarely will the under secretary of health affairs, U.S. surgeon general and all three service surgeon generals agree on any topic. However, all five of these senior leaders were singing the same tune

It

Have you ever received a product or service with the expectation that it would make your life easier or more productive? We have all heard the promises associated with upgrading our computer to the latest software version. After installation, however, the computer fails to work as expected and requires hours of tinkering before it is useful again.

A guy I know, Jim, was stationed at Osan, Korea, a few years back and told this story. He was living in the dorms and was leaving to go get something to eat. He had noticed that a guy down the hall had been looking down, so he decided to invite him to go with him. The guy declined the offer so Jim went on alone but brought him back something to eat. The guy invited him in, and they ate their dinner together in the dorm room. Jim never really became friends with the guy but would talk occasionally and say hi.

How do you react to seeing lights and sirens and emergency responders busy redirecting traffic and the base populace or attending to injured personnel? How do you react when you are told to evacuate your building or are turned away from going to your desired destination? How can you help as a cordon sentry?

***image1***“Have a Happy New Year” was probably said to me at least 50 times in December. It got me thinking about what we’ve accomplished and, more importantly, what challenges lie ahead for 2005. I’ve been in the logistics readiness squadron commander’s seat for six months. My plan of attack was […]