Page 2 - Desert Lightning News So. AZ Edition, July 2019
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2                                                                 July 2019                                                                           Desert Lightning News

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                    Reflections of a loyal heretic

C O M M E N TA R Y       by Col. WILEY BARNES                     to step up our game as leaders to de-       people in your flight, people down the      how we must think about everything
                                                                  velop our people. We need to arm them       hall in the dorm, the soldier at the bus    we do. Yours will be different, but here’s
                                           517th Training Group   to make choices, which optimize their       stop, or the Airman you’re often next to    mine:
                                                                  capability as learners, increase their      in formation because you’re the same
                       PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif.               resiliency and enhance their overall        height. When you have a tough time,            Mutual respect: Regardless of
                    — For the past two years as commander         effectiveness.                              they will be there for you and you’ll be    rank, position or authority, we treat
                    of the 517th Training Group and Assis-                                                    there when they have trouble. Make no       people with dignity and respect. Mutual
                    tant Commandant of Defense Language              As part of our campaign to improve       mistake, you will have a difficult time     respect enables trust, which enables
                    Institute Foreign Language Center,            Airmen’s performance, and ourselves,        at some point in training, because life     teamwork. We succeed or fail as a team
                    America has entrusted thousands of            we started sharing with Airmen “If you      happens. You may struggle in class, a       and mutual respect is the foundation
                    its sons and daughters to my care. The        follow NERDS, you will be successful.”      loved one may be sick or die, breakups      of success.
                    previous Secretary of Defense, James          This is pulled from Doyle and Zakra-        happen, disagreements happen, and
                    Mattis, emphasized the importance             jsek’s book “The New Science of Learn-      old friendships end. With the pressure         Do the right thing for the right
                    of these service members in the 2018          ing,” which provides the fundamentals       on you to perform well every day, get-      reasons: The reasons are nation,
                    National Defense Strategy stating, “The       of resiliency and the need for disciplined  ting likes on Instagram or a few texts      service, unit and mission. These drive
                    creativity and talent of the American         conduct to achieve goals. They offer the    will not be enough. A strong web is not     our conduct as wingmen and leaders
                    warfighter is our greatest enduring           NERDS acronym: Nutrition, Exercise,         built with one strand, it’s built with an   in service of something greater than
                    strength and one we do not take for           Relationships, Discipline, Sleep.           interlocking set of strands.                ourselves. Always take the hard right
                    granted.” Our obligation as leaders of                                                                                                over the easy wrong.
                    these warfighters is best captured in a          Nutrition: To optimize brain func-          Discipline: Because of our oath of
                    single phrase, “To whom much is given,        tion, learners — and we’re all learners     service, our actions must be guided            Lead by example: Air Force service
                    much is expected.”                            — must stay hydrated and eat healthy        by the following priorities; the nation,    is a human endeavor, and we are a social
                                                                  foods. Particularly for those living on     our service, our unit and the mission.      species. We respond to the behavior of
                       As I reflect on the past two years, I      their own for the first time, the dining    To be most effective in meeting our         our teammates. Regardless of rank,
                    offer three things for your consideration     facility can be fraught with junk food      obligations, we must practice the self-     position or authority, we have influence
                    as good stewards, learners, and leaders:      peril. However, you need to reduce sug-     discipline to make positive choices         over our teammates with our actions
                    NERDS are awesome.                            ars, increase complex carbohydrates,        optimizing Nutrition, Exercise, Rela-       and attitudes. I expect every Airman to
                                                                  and stay hydrated. Although you may         tionships, and Sleep.                       choose to be a positive influence on his
                       NERDS rule!                                get to see the dentist for cavities or the                                              or her team.
                       Your leadership philosophy shapes          medics because you pass out in forma-          Sleep: You need seven and a half to
                    you and your team; and our purpose            tion during one of my long-winded           nine hours of sleep a night, even more         Continuous improvement: We
                    matters.                                      speeches, your plan of living on three      for teenagers, to optimize neurological     must improve ourselves and our teams
                       At the Presidio of Monterey, home of       energy drinks a day is not going to help    functions in the brain associated with      to make the Air Force capable of main-
                    the 517th TRG and DLIFLC, most of             you learn Mandarin. Did I mention veg-      learning. Not only does sleep enable        taining America’s advantage. Being the
                    our 3,000 students from all four service      etables and staying hydrated?               learning, it also helps our mood, im-       most powerful Air Force in the world is
                    branches use buses to get around the                                                      proves our ability to handle whatever
                    Army post. If you pay attention, you             Exercise: You need 30 minutes mini-      life throws at us, and helps us prevent                        See reFleCtionS, Page 12
                    can often see three service members           mum of aerobic exercise three times per     disease. Choose sleep over social media,
                    sitting on a bus stop bench, looking at       week to optimize your neurological ef-      texting and gaming. Sleep is a miracle
                    their smart phones, and not talking to        fectiveness as a learner. From a mental     drug.
                    each other. I take an informal poll every     health and resiliency standpoint, exer-
                    two weeks when I speak to Airmen at           cise is powerful for fighting depression       Your leadership philosophy
                    in-processing to find out how many of         and anxiety. Plus, exercise is a perfect    shapes you and your team: I highly
                    them got eight hours of sleep or more         way to take a break from studying.          recommend you develop a leadership
                    the night before. Typically, only 30 to                                                   philosophy, whether you lead a team of
                    40% of the Airmen say they got eight             Relationships: A strong web of re-       two or a global enterprise of thousands.
                    hours of sleep.                               lationships with the people around you      Live by it. Communicate it. Be the
                       These are just a few indicators, along     will optimize your effectiveness and        change you want to see. My team has
                    with the number of mental health crises       resilience. You must build relationships    four parts. Essentially, it’s my person-
                    our Airmen are experiencing, we need          with the people around you. Invest time     alization of our service core values. It’s
                                                                  in getting to know your classmates, the

                    Reminder to be safe, vigilant during holiday weekend

                         by DAVID BEECROFT                        targets to violent extremists. For that     or security procedures                      site, like your profile page, a blog,
                                                                  reason, we’ve captured some tips we            • Loitering, parking or standing in      public forum or photo caption. Be
                              Deputy director of Security Forces  believe will be helpful for you and                                                     suspicious of unsolicited email mes-
                                                                  your families.                              the same area over multiple days with       sages or phone calls from individuals
                       Editor’s note: This commentary was                                                     no reasonable explanation                   asking for personal information. If an
                    first published July 2, 2015.                    Don’t cancel your plans, but do re-                                                  unknown individual claims to be from
                                                                  mind everyone at work or at play to            • Individuals wearing clothes not        a legitimate organization, try to verify
                       WASHINGTON -- As we enter this             exercise appropriate operational se-        appropriate for the weather or season       his or her identity directly with that
                    holiday weekend and enjoy the activi-         curity and force protection procedures                                                  organization.
                    ties celebrating our nation’s indepen-        while taking part in activities — real         • Attempted or unauthorized access
                    dence, commanders and supervisors             or virtual.                                 to potentially sensitive areas                 The July Fourth weekend is in-
                    will remind us to focus on safety as                                                                                                  tended to provide us with time for rest,
                    we participate in cookouts, fireworks            Whether you’re at work, home or             • If it looks suspicious or out of       reflection, relaxation and fun as we
                    and outdoor fun.                              an outside activity, report suspicious      place, report it                            gather with family and friends to cel-
                                                                  activity to your local law enforcement                                                  ebrate the independence of this great
                       The safety of our Air Force commu-         agency, base police or Office of Special       As a general rule, when you’re           nation. Others, like our security forces,
                    nities and our families is paramount.         Investigations. Suspicious activity         online, think about what you’re post-       firefighters and other first responders,
                    While we encourage everyone to enjoy          that warrants reporting may include:        ing. Keep current on evolving privacy       will be on the job. We need your help
                    their July Fourth celebrations, please                                                    restrictions on social media accounts       every day. Have a safe Fourth of July
                    remember to exercise vigilance at all            • Individuals with new or increased      and be aware of online mentions of          weekend.
                    times, especially through the upcom-          interest in critical buildings and land-    locations and activities, especially
                    ing holiday.                                  marks with no reasonable explanation        surrounding federal holidays and
                                                                                                              military events.
                       These large gatherings in the Unit-           • Suspicious observation of or un-
                    ed States or overseas are attractive          usual questions about maintenance              Never broadcast private contact
                                                                                                              information or list your e-mail ad-
                                                                                                              dress or phone number in any public
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