Page 2 - Nellis AFB Bullseye 8-28-15

2 August 28, 2015
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Never underestimate your impact
By Chief Master Sgt. Zachary Capogna
39th Maintenance Squadron
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey — Every day I visit
our great Airmen and every day I come across more
than one that underestimates their impact to the
mission.
There’s the one-stripe maintainer, “just repaneling
an aircraft,” for the next day’s flight, or the young
personalist, “just issuing another identification
card,” or the defender, “just guarding the gate.” The
list could go on and on. Hopefully we all realize the
significance of each task in the preceding example.
My experiences have demonstrated to me that time
after time we do not.
So what’s the big deal? I do just repanel aircraft
right? And I really do just issue ID cards. And hey,
I’ve been pulling guard duty for two years. This really
is all I do. Are you going to trap me in a 30-minute
Challenge yourself: Never give up, never quit
By Chief Master Sgt. Wendi L. McLean
141st Medical Group
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE,
Wash. — I once read that newly cre-
ated cells in our bodies do one of two
things: they either begin to decay or
they become more vital.
These cells choose their path based
on what we demand of them. If we are
sedentary, our brains signal our cells
to decay; but if we exercise, our cells
get the signal that we need them to be
strong and healthy. Likewise, when we
refuse to challenge ourselves, it’s like
we are telling something inside of us to
decay; but if we do the things that chal-
lenge us, we too become more vital and,
sometimes, we even change our lives.
I often think about an experi-
ence that challenged me and for-
ever changed my life: Air Force Basic
Military Training. To understand why
BMT challenged me, you first have to
understand the person I was before I
joined the military.
In 1984, I was a college dropout
waiting tables at a local restaurant.
It was one of the lowest points in my
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mentoring session to try and convince me my simple
tasks really mean more? Why yes I am.
Each day, every one of us has the potential to con-
tribute to airpower, the defense of our great nation
and an unparalleled way of life. Each day, there are
a whole lot of other people that would love nothing
more than a chance to degrade our airpower, attack
our nation and our way of life.
Where does that repaneled aircraft completed on
time and mission capable fit into the picture? And
how do valid ID cards, trusted as a first line of cyber
and physical security contribute? What impact could
that young defender pulling guard duty at 2 a.m. re-
ally make to the base defense?
Fill in a few gaps on the preceding scenarios and
the impact each of our Airmen make becomes clear.
The aircraft is the only intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance asset within 500 miles and a special
forces unit is pinned down and requires immediate
life, not because I was a waitress, but
because I had little hope of a different
future. That’s a tough reality when
you’re 19. Looking for a way out, I
joined the military. My father said I
wouldn’t last two weeks. I couldn’t
fault my dad for not believing in me,
because I didn’t even believe in myself.
I was physically weak and had a his-
tory of being a quitter.
I passed out my first day of BMT.
While I was recovering, the rest of my
flight got issued uniforms. For three
days I marched at the back of my flight
as a “Rainbow.” I remember looking at
everyone else that first day, those other
girls were confident and strong. Me?
Still in my “civvies.” The truth was
painfully obvious — I didn’t belong.
My dad was right.
In 1984 we ran PT in formation,
starting with two laps and gradually
working our way up to six. I was a
terrible runner, and by the fifth lap I
started falling out of formation. I was
still able to make my run time, but
falling out of formation made one a
magnet for unwanted attention. On
the sixth lap, I could no longer make
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support and real-time battle field information. Our
ID cards repel millions of cyber-attacks launched
against our networks by providing a first line of de-
fense for our mission critical information technology
systems because they are produced valid, up to date
and therefore trusted. And our defenders; trained,
motivated and with steadfast commitment to their
posts, keep adversaries off our base, enabling all air-
power functions to operate and degrade our adversar-
ies ability to operate in our area of responsibilities.
The next time you come across one of our great
Airmen underestimating their impact to the mis-
sion, due me a favor; belt out a powerful “HUA” and
take the moment to recognize the Airmen for the
specific task they’re performing and for its impact
to our mission. For all of our great Airmen reading
this and not accepting the impact you make each
and every day for our great Air Force, I say to you
“HUA!” And thanks for all you do! Aim High!
my time. While everyone else went to
dinner, I headed back out to the track
for remedial running every evening.
I was miserable and I wanted to go
home.
Our fifth week of training was a
turning point for me. I had been too
caught up in my own miserable ex-
istence to notice something — many
of the girls who I thought were so
strong that first day were gone. They
had given up, but I hadn’t. I wasn’t
the same quitter who had shown up to
BMT that first day; I was stronger and
more resilient, but I still couldn’t run.
In the end it wouldn’t matter that I had
lasted more than two weeks, because
if I couldn’t pass my PT test I would
be discharged.
Due to inclement weather our fit-
ness test was on the last day of BMT,
which meant no second chances. We
formed up and started running. First
lap — fine, second lap — fine, third
lap — ok. On the fourth lap I started
to struggle, but I was not the only one
having a difficult time. We locked
arms — no one was going to fall out,
we would finish together even if we
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had to drag people across the finish
line.
On the fifth lap I was dying and
running just one more lap seemed
impossible. On the sixth lap I felt
like my lungs would explode. I could
see the finish line, but if the other
girls had not been holding my arms I
don’t think I could have finished. We
crossed the finish line together and I
cried for joy. As we stood sweaty and
stinky in our dayroom, our training
instructor pressed a basic training
ribbon into each of our hands. It was
the proudest moment of my life. I was
an Airman.
A mile and a half may not seem
like a big deal, but to me, it seemed
impossible. It was my challenge, and
for the first time in my life I stuck
with something difficult and finished
it, but I didn’t do it alone. It’s through
teamwork we can accomplish just
about anything. I didn’t just run a mile
and a half that day, I changed my life
and I did it with my new Air Force
family. I learned that I am strong and
we are stronger when we band together
to never give up, never to quit.
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