Commentaries

  • The universal skillset of leadership

    A year ago, our Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., tasked the air staff with four key areas to focus their efforts. These were released to the Air Force a couple months later as “General Brown’s Action Orders.” Under Action Order A: Airmen, Brown stated the Air Force needs to, “find and

  • Proud to be an American

    I joined the Air Force for the uniform but stayed for the mission. Yes, I’ll admit that I answered my nation’s call not because I fancied myself a warrior but because I thought it’d be cool. One Zeydie (Yiddish for grandfather) taught physics in the Air Force in World War II, the other served in the

  • Expertise and the importance of humility

    “It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.” — EpictetusOver my time in the Air Force, I have constantly pursued expertise in various domains (athletics, aviation, leadership, academic endeavors, etc.). There were times when I was behind my peers in gaining mastery of a

  • Effort

    Continuous effort drives motivation, accomplishment and excellence. Looking back on my Air Force career, the effort that I put into my work has in return widened my knowledge base, created opportunities, expanded my network and has allowed me to have a positive impact on those around me. Effort is a

  • Airmen are people too

    The best superhero movies are the ones where we see how they're people too, just like us. Well, Airmen - the brave women and men who protect our nation - are our nation's superheroes. And they’re people, too.But how can we make people feel like people in a mission-oriented environment? This is the

  • Mentorship – Taking care of Airmen

    If you take a moment and think about those people that you admire and consider successful, have you ever asked why are they are so successful? If you had, you might have heard things like, “they worked hard and went above and beyond any expectations,” or “they had innovative ideas allowing for more

  • Shouldering, shedding and sharing burdens

    The word burden often carries a negative connotation. The word burden often conjures up thoughts of hardship and despair. Years ago, my greatest source of inspiration for leadership, “The Book,” changed how I viewed the concept of burdens. My favorite chapter provides three major takeaways on the

  • Celebrating military children

    What is the origin of the Month of the Military Child? The Month of the Military Child is part of a legacy left by former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. Since his establishment of the Month of the Military Child in 1986, there have been an increasing number of campaigns, recognizing the needs

  • Leveraging Technology for More Effective Teams

    In March of 2020 a public health emergency was declared on Dover AFB due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea that we have been operating with constraints of various forms for over a year at this point is absolutely astonishing to me. I’m sure most can relate when I say some days it seems like this

  • The Importance of Leading Up

    When I arrived at Dover for my command tour, I was coming off a year as an instructor at Squadron Officer School, followed by a year as a student at Air Command and Staff College, where I was introduced to a concept called meta-leadership. The concept was originally developed at Harvard and is