Page 4 - Desert Lightning News 8-14-15

4 August 14, 2015
Air Force needs every Airman as leader
Commentary by Col. David Simon
60th Surgical Operations Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE, Calif. -- Does every
Airman truly need to be a leader? The short an-
swer is yes. they will be able to lead others to do similarly. experienced clinicians execute that part of the
Obviously, there are various levels of leader-
ship within the Air Force, but even an airman
basic is a leader in the community by virtue of
wearing the uniform.
The civilian population looks to members of
the uniformed services for leadership, guidance
and assistance in times of crises and otherwise,
oftentimes blind to the rank worn. Additionally,
the development of leadership and followership
skills go hand in hand. into a leader. On the other hand, it is impera-
Many of our skilled Airmen question wheth-
er they need to take on leadership positions
and develop those skills rather than the skillset
for which they were trained. If one simplisti-
cally looks at the structure of a factory making
a product, the ratio of foremen/supervisors to
workers is relatively low. Most of the skilled
workers spend their entire careers honing their
skills and ultimately become masters at their
craft. Businesses that succeed for the long haul
typically place high value on their skilled work-
ers as well as their strong leaders.
The Air Force emphasizes the concept of
developing leaders at almost every level, many
times at the expense of productivity. We groom
OPEN EVERY DAY
6XQ7KXUVǩ1RRQSP
)UL6DWǩ1RRQSP
Award winning brewery
featuring 7 Beers and Root Beer
all made at the brewery
Grilled Brats and Gourmet Chili
plus free popcorn available
Convival Tap Room
and Elevated patio
Located in the heart of the
Historic Brewery Gulch,
Bisbee, AZ
We Support the Troops
֗֗
We support and honor our troops
FYUtXXXQETDPVOUSZDMVCDPN
through on-going contributions to
organizations such as the Armed
Forces Family Survivors Fund.
ZZZROGELVEHHEUHZLQJFRPSDQ\FRP
Desert Lightning News
www.aerotechnews.com/davis-monthanafb
Facebook.com/DesertLightningNews
future Air Force leaders early on in their careers. care for their patients. If we commit to al-
When we identify that one of our members lowing them to do so, we gain as a branch of
does their job extraordinarily well, we assume service and a population of patients by having
We place the member in a leadership position mission with the precision we deserve.
and ironically the skills that brought recognition Leadership is important, and every Airman
to the member which enabled promotion begin
to atrophy. The organization then misses out on does truly need to be a leader. However, one
that valuable resource as long as the member is can be a leader without being placed in a leader-
not working in his or her primary career field. ship position. One important aspect of leader-
ship is setting the example for others. We do
As a military organization, it is imperative that every day if we live by the Air Force core
that we never have a leadership vacuum and we values: “Integrity first, service before self and
have ensured that by developing each Airman excellence in all we do.”
tive we execute the mission with precision. Each If our Airmen serve their country by doing
skilled worker in the Air Force brings an impor- their jobs to the best of their ability with integ-
rity, they are truly leading by example.
tant piece to the puzzle that allows us to execute
the mission and those skills are likely to improve
with experience much like the master craftsman
working in a factory.
The Air Force Medical Service has been wise
to create three pathways for its senior mem-
bers: clinical, academic and leadership. This
achieves the goal of filling key leadership po-
sitions and allows for recruitment of good
people and retention of those with experience
and expertise. Some clinicians are interested
in leadership or academic positions, but many
clinicians realize early on in their careers that
they have minimal interest in leadership and
want to spend their years providing excellent
SMILEʖʛʠUʝɃɏ\ʝʦɠ ATTENTION GOLFERS:
First Impressions, It’s All in Your Smile.
Do you know that you can play
Dr. Gabriel Schmidtke is an experienced a round of golf for $5.37 a day!
+'2'8!£ &'2ধ9; >,3 ;8'!;9 6!ধ'2;9 3( !££
!+'9W ; $,1-&;0' '2;!£T @3< >-££ 9'' It’s true! Pueblo del Sol Country Club has golf
(!1-£-!8(!$'9!;'='8@=-9-;R memberships available with no initiation fee and only
8U $,1-&;0'֗6'8(3819 !¡¡ &'2;!¡ ;8'!;1'2; $163.26 per month (3 month minimum applies).
-2;,'3ă$'S8!2+-2+(831!9-16¡'$¡'!2-2+;3
(<¡¡&'2;<8'9U Membership will enable you access to:
%SJWJOH3BOHFt4XJNNJOH4QB'BDJMJUJFT
‰‡¦3ø!ধ'2;Z939; 1SJWBUF5FOOJT$PVSUTt%JOJOH%JTDPVOUBU)VNNJOHCJSE(SJMMF
ă$'3<89V32&!@f,<89&!@jV‡‡!1f‹V‡‡61 We also have a variety of tee
times available to the public
➽ ROUTINE CLEANING ➽ BRIDGES ➽ DENTAL IMPLANTS
➽ PERIO TREATMENT ➽ LUMINEERS ➽ PARTIALS each and every day.
➽ FILLINGS ➽ ROOT CANALS ➽ DENTURES Military discount
➽ VENEERS ➽ WHITENING ➽ SIMPLI5 BRACES for active military.
➽ CROWNS ➽
SCHMIDTKE DENTAL
4U"OESFXT%SJWFt4JFSSB7JTUB
‰‰‰‡W!1-238-2$-6!£j<$932T ¥ŒˆŒlŒ‰‡m¥¥ŒfŽŽj>>>W$,1-&;0''2;!£W$31