Page 2 - Nellis AFB Bullseye 7-10-15

2 July 10, 2015
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Let’s talk
By Master Sgt. Demetrius Best
366th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho —
Nobel Prize winning playwright George Bernard Shaw
wrote, “The single biggest problem in communication
is the illusion that it has taken place.” Throughout my
years in the Air Force I’ve learned many great lessons
about effective communication.
By my own admission, I never considered myself
to be a great communicator. Everyone who knows me
knows that I love talking and sharing stories, but there
is a difference between speaking and effective com-
munication. It encompasses a set of skills including:
nonverbal communication, the ability to communicate
assertively, the ability to understand your emotions
and the emotions of the person you are communicat-
ing with. In the military, communication requires an
exchange of ideas that go through the chain of com-
mand and ensures the intended message is delivered
Who am I? Who are you? Who are we?
By Master Sgt. Loren Cossette
33rd Maintenance Group
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. —
What’s your job? Over the years, I’ve
been asked this question countless
times whether it be while in-processing
new units, deploying, attending pro-
fessional military education, or while
participating in various panels. moting a specialty-centric mindset and
The answers are as numerous and
varied as the titles in the Air Force. For
most of us, the answer is easy. I am
a first sergeant; I am a maintainer;
I am security forces; I am admin; I
work communications; I am a den-
tal tech. It’s a simple question with
a simple answer. But, could there be
more to this question and could our
answers reflect a deeper, more signifi-
cant meaning?
How we answer this question reflects
who we are as professionals and repre-
sents the group within the Air Force
with which we most closely identify. It
shapes our interactions with others, our
opinions of others and lays a foundation
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Commentary BULLSEYE
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accurately, and on-time to the intended audience. about 95 percent of the questions my Airmen have
Effective communication is a two-way street and get answered on the spot. This shows my Airmen
that I’m accessible and not connected to my desk and
includes active listening, which means listening with workstation. I’ve also learned that although it takes
all senses. Active listening gives your full undivided me about five-to-ten minutes to type up an email for
attention to the speaker and lets the speaker know you mass distribution, the message often times gets lost.
are engaged and in tune with the message. Simply put, there is no replacement for a good old
fashioned eyeball-to-eyeball conversation. Effective
My mentor is very direct in her communication communication cannot, and should not, be replaced
with me and often times after a conversation, she will by hitting send on an email! It is needed more today
ask me if I understood what we just spoke about. She than ever before.
does not ask the question to belittle me or question
my competence, she asks to ensure I understand. Most As Airmen, it is our responsibility to give our lead-
importantly, she asks to ensure her intentions and ers feedback along with ideas for improving our day-
directions are clear to me. In my opinion, this is the to-day tasks. As leaders, it is our responsibility and
essence of clear and effective communication. duty to effectively give our Airmen direct, clear and
actionable feedback. Airmen at all levels must strive
The human element of effective communication to become better active listeners and communicators.
cannot be overstated. As a flight chief, I spend a lot of From airman basic to general, no one in our Air Force
my days doing administrative tasks, fielding and dis- is exempt from communication.
seminating information from my leaders down to my
flight. One thing that I’ve noticed is that face-to-face When in doubt, talk it out!
conversation has a significant impact. For example,
for our professional identity and the emony, we each felt the greatest sense of last breath. It is why there is a U.S
developmental path which we follow. pride in what we had accomplished. For Air Force tape over my heart on my
many of us, it was a defining moment uniform. Yes, I am a first sergeant.
This identification establishes our in our lives, and it felt great! Yes, I am a senior noncommissioned
priorities and focuses our efforts. The officer. But when you ask me what my
answer we give unites us with those I remember calling my friends job is, I am an Airman.
close to us, but slowly begins to divide Airman for the first time and being
us from those outside of our work called Airman. We couldn’t say it
center, our squadron, our group, or enough. That word, that title and the
our career field. Simply, we begin pro- idea it represents made us feel on top of
the world. Together, we accomplished
eventually forget who we are. something remarkable, and there was
no limit to what we would accomplish
We are Airmen. More importantly, as part of the bigger team.
we are Airmen first. For many of us, it’s
been years and years since we earned Maybe it’s time for us to remember
the title of Airman. Whether it was at that feeling ... to remember that pride.
basic military training, officer train- Maybe it’s time to remember that
ing school, ROTC, or the Air Force simple word, that title, that idea. It rep-
Academy, each of us earned this title resents who we are at our core and our
and became part of one of the greatest most basic of beliefs. It’s what bonds
teams in history. We learned our Core us all together regardless of when or
Values and of Airmanship. where we serve, our rank, our specialty,
or our duty title. It’s who we were, who
The lessons we learned formed the we are, and who we will be. No matter
foundation for our careers and our ser- the challenge, we will execute and suc-
vice which, combined with hundreds of ceed as Airmen supported by Airmen.
thousands of our fellow Airmen, forms
the backbone of Airpower. As we stood I became an Airman 13 years ago
at a graduation parade or graduate cer- and will continue to be one until my
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