News for the Ramstein, Kaiserslautern, Landstuhl & Baumholder military communities in Germany I recently achieved one of my lifelong career goals. As a flight nurse evaluator, I was afforded the rare opportunity to compete for the Army’s Expert Field Medical Badge. Medical personnel consider the EFMB one of the most difficult and prestigious skill badges a military medical technician can earn.
Are we creating a culture of “team” or one of “individuals”? As leaders, we are expected to develop effective, efficient teams and merge the talents of our subordinates. However, it’s easy to shift our focus toward individual recognition, and it has the potential to come at the expense of team success.
Ownership is at the core of a majority of our successes and failures — in the military, professional careers and our personal lives. Ownership remains at the core of these ebbs and flows.
It’s great to be back at Ramstein! As a prior Commander of the 86th Operations Group and Deputy Commander of the 603rd Air and Space Operations Center 2006-2009, I absolutely enjoyed the people, the mission and the privilege of living and working here at Ramstein Air Base.
Over many decades, the Air Force has emphasized continuous process improvement. In the beginning of my career, the process was called Total Quality Management. Then it transformed to Lean Six Sigma before finally changing into Air Force Smart Operations in the 21st century. Process improvement is always with us.
As I prepare for retirement after 28 years and depart Ramstein Air Base and Germany at the end of the month, I was asked to reflect on my career.
Ramstein is a different beast. As my tour comes to an end, I feel honored and privileged to have led the United States Air Force’s premier power projection platform, an installation that serves as the central hub for all military operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Crew Resource Management is a vital tool used in aviation to ensure people’s skills and inputs are optimized to maximize safe, effective operations. This tool, or training procedure, is the cornerstone of safe operations in crew aircraft.
A new life was waiting for me. At 19 years old, I was leaving everything I had grown to love or learn to live with: my friends, my family and my home. I was anxious to get on the plane, but I couldn’t leave without one last hug from my parents. It wasn’t like the quick hugs I’d give to my friends before we enjoyed our weekends from school. This time I embraced my mom and held her, ignoring the occasional glance from a passing stranger in the bustling airport around me.
The elimination of the draft in 1973 marked the beginning of an all-volunteer force in the U.S. military, but that’s not the volunteer force I would like to address.
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