Page 2 - Desert Lightning News, So. AZ Edition, Nov. 3 2017
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C O M M E N TA R Y                  by Lt. Col.                  punt from our own 20-yard line or our        ence. The entire playbook should be        and Win. To be sure, the intrepid play
                            NELSON ROULEAU                       opponent’s 10-yard line. Can you imag-       discarded and started anew. It’s time      may not execute exactly as planned.
                                                                 ine the embarrassment and the force-         to rewrite bold new strategies that are    Don’t worry. With trust and intent, in-
                     12th Airborne Command and Control Squadron  shaping board that awaits the Airman         driven not by fear of failure, but by a    stead of running a post route, Airmen
                                                                 who misses a 27-yard field goal? I can.      tenacious will to win.                     may read the defense at the line of
                       ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. —                                                                                                      scrimmage and have the conviction to
                    Our collective failure to lead boldly and       The Air Force’s playbook lacks risk. As      On fourth-and-one, encourage ev-        take a risk and run a fly pattern.
                    teach others to do the same has led us       a result, the playbook has been stripped     ery Airman, fast or slow, tall or short,
                    toward the end of our runway.                of any real value. It’s electronically       great hands or stone hands, to go deep        Leadership expert, Simon Sinek
                                                                 tossed through the bureaucratic chain        and look for the ball in the end zone.     recognized that trust is, “Critical for
                       Airmen are watching                       of command until it lays absent of ideas     Demand your quarterback throw the          humans because when trusts exists,
                       Young military leaders vicariously        that dare to challenge the status quo.       ball deep.                                 we dare to take risks, experiment and
                    learn the easiest path to promotion is       The book is written not to lose.                                                        explore because we know that somebody
                    through conservative decisions, and a                                                        The focus of this commentary is to ask  is watching our back.”
                    single mistake may cost a career.               Williamson Murray correctly pointed       every squadron commander to author
                       In light of these realities, too many     out that, “The problem lies in the fact      and approve new and audacious fourth-         In essence, Sinek was describing our
                    NCOs and company-grade officers are          that these so-called strategic docu-         and-one options.                           organic wingman culture.
                    frightened to fail. For far too long, NCOs   ments are the products of bureaucratic
                    and CGOs witnessed those who swerved         processes that aim to remove every              It examines how adding the long            Trust is paramount
                    slightly off their path risk career-ending   contentious issue.”                          ball to the fourth and short playbook         As squadron commanders, our high-
                    consequences.                                                                             inspires trust and confidence in Air-      est obligation is to be that wingman.
                       The flight path to success is clear --       Going even further in his analysis of     men, and it asserts that the bold play on  Trust and confidence is paramount to
                    no mistakes. The easiest way to avoid a      these type of documents, Murray posited      fourth down values failure as a learning   winning, as is the willingness to fail
                    misstep is to bypass high-risk decisions     that they’re “written by large groups of     opportunity.                               and learn.
                    and to avoid unpredictable outcomes.         the unimaginative; they are passed up                                                      Throwing long on a fourth down rec-
                       Unsurprisingly, much like a football      the chain of command to insure there            Having the audacity to plan and ex-     ognizes failure as a teachable moment
                    game, in a fourth down and one-yard to       is nothing daring or controversial that      ecute a 50-yard throw on fourth and one    and establishes a command culture
                    gain situation, the proverbial Air Force     might upset the conventional wisdom          instills confidence and demonstrates the   that values learning. Airmen will not
                    playbook has only one strategy, punt         with its comfortable assumptions about       value of calculated risk. Most impor-      fly every mission perfectly; Airmen will
                    the football.                                the future.”                                 tantly, Airmen will recognize genuine      not catch every ball. Undoubtedly, we
                       Sadly, we routinely punt on fourth-                                                    trust and will understand the end state    disappoint from time-to-time. If we don’t
                    and-one regardless of field position. We        Time to rewrite strategies                is to win.                                 practice throwing the long ball in peace-
                                                                    Our strategy is designed not to win,
                                                                 but to avoid failure. There is a differ-        When trust and intent are unmistak-                                      See Force, Page 15
                                                                                                              ably established, Airmen will Fly, Fight,

                    Three pounds, 11 ounces of resiliency

                                                       by Senior Airman                                       to a regular crib on day 18. We were able to breastfeed, successfully, on day 20.
                                                                                                              Her month-long stay began to look shorter and shorter. She was impressing every
                                                        SHELBY HORN                                           doctor and nurse, and we were all so proud of her.

                                                                      349th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs     She was discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit at 30 days old, the
                                                                                                              day before her one-month birthday. The doctors assured us we were not in the
                       TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — As military members we are inundated                   clear yet. She was still going to need eye exams, have development delays, and
                    with training and speeches about resiliency. We hear it so often that it can get          have issues putting on weight … and then she didn’t.
                    dull and become just another checked box on your records, until the message gets
                    personally delivered in a place you’d never expect.                                          Every single issue the doctors told us she would face, she has beaten. Sadie is
                                                                                                              10 months old now, and is on par with babies her age. She is chunky, happy, and
                       In 2016 my husband and I found out I was pregnant with our second child, and           healthy; and she completed our family just as we knew she would.
                    we were ecstatic. We had just bought our first home and the age gap between our
                    first and second child would be three years, our “ideal” age gap. It was another             It’s important to know that Sadie’s improvements didn’t happen overnight. It
                    girl, which is exactly what we wanted. We decided to name her Sadie Jean, after           was a slow process. We went day by day. We celebrated every milestone, which
                    my husband’s grandma. We were so excited for her to complete our family. We               were as small as ounces gained or as big as IV lines being removed. When some-
                    anxiously awaited her arrival, which was estimated as December 29.                        thing came up that pushed us backward, we reassessed and reattacked. I look at
                                                                                                              my daughter and all that she was up against - the odds were certainly not in her
                       The pregnancy progressed smoothly, she was growing beautifully, and everything         favor, yet that tiny, 3-pound premature baby tackled every one of them.
                    was going great -- until it wasn’t.
                                                                                                                 Sadie had the help and support of trained doctors, nurses, developmental
                       Sadie Jean was born Oct. 21, 2016, a full 10 weeks before her due date. I was          therapists and more. Being an infant, she wasn’t able to ask for help. Others saw
                    diagnosed with a placental abruption. There were no signs or symptoms. From               her issues and helped her overcome them. She couldn’t have progressed the way
                    the beginning of labor to birth was a mere three hours. She was 3 pounds, 11              she did without the help of others, and I dread to think of where she would be if
                    ounces and 17 inches long.                                                                she hadn’t received that help.

                       She was a few hours old when I first saw her, with an oxygen mask taped to                So why should I expect myself, or anyone else for that matter, to handle life’s
                    her face, and wires, tubes, needle pricks, and bruises on seemingly every visible         challenges and obstacles, whether physical, emotional or mental on their own?
                    body part. She was 3 days old when I first held her, for 30 minutes, with alarms          When we see someone struggling, why should we leave them to struggle alone?
                    going off and nurses watching my every move.                                              We have resources available to help us, such as family and friends, coworkers and
                                                                                                              supervisors, Military One Source, and airman and family readiness, to name a few.
                       It was devastating the first time we sat with her neonatal intensive care unit
                    doctor and learned the prognosis. She was going to have issues with her lungs                No one should ever feel alone when going through a difficult period in his or
                    and eyes. She would be developmentally delayed until preschool age, and need              her life, no matter what it may be. We should never look down on someone who
                    heavy physical therapy; she would never be able to breastfeed. Her hospital stay          needs help or fear being looked down upon when we ask for help. People should
                    would be, at the very least, seven to eight weeks. My husband and I went home             also realize the situation most likely will require more than just a quick fix.
                    that night completely defeated.
                                                                                                                 Sadie had many setbacks during her time in the NICU, even with her team
                       The first few days of her stay were the hardest. My tiny baby’s progress would         of helpers, and she may have more as she gets older - and that’s okay. We will
                    make one step forward and then two steps back. We believed the doctors were               continue to monitor her health as she grows, and if something comes up in the
                    right when they told us what to expect. We prepared ourselves for months in the           future, we will get her the help she needs.
                    NICU, and then Sadie proved everyone wrong.
                                                                                                                 Although her recovery wasn’t quick, and may still be ongoing, Sadie has shown
                       It started with the removal of her oxygen, which happened at day eight. Next           she is resilient. Her resiliency has taught me more than she will ever know.Thanks
                    came the removal of her IV lines on day 14. She was tolerating her feeds, and we          to her, I will always strive to be the best I can be -- for her, my family and myself.
                    cheered over every ounce gained. She was taken out of her incubator and moved             If a 3-pound infant can overcome, then I can overcome, and so can you.
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