There should be no excuse for high standards

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Candler
  • 423rd Air Base Group Superintendent
RAF ALCONBURY, United Kingdom --  There I was, at a remote site with 42 other Airmen, minimal contact with anybody outside the post, and serving as the lone postal warrior. It was hard to see the importance of the mission and urgency behind doing things right. You could say I slightly fell into the trap of those that weren't happy to be there nor took their responsibility seriously. However, soon after I met with my new supervisor, Master Sgt. Atterberry, I discovered the meaning of being precise in my actions and being held accountable when not.

Sergeant Atterberry was not only in charge of the communications flight, but was also dual-hatted as the NCOIC of Transportation and Supply. After completing all required USPS requirements for shipping mail, I visited Sergeant Atterberry twice per week to ensure outgoing shipments were added to the Tuesday or Thursday C-130 manifest. I can still remember the first day I took a DD Form 1348 to him for shipment of classified and unclassified mail. Three mandatory sections, but meaningless in my mind, were blank and he handed it back to me to do over. My initial response was, "it was OK before," but of course he let me know that "good enough" was not part of his or USAF's vocabulary.

I re-accomplished the form and returned, thinking I was finished. Sergeant Atterberry then requested the postal tracking number to go along with the manifest. "What?," I thought..."I was never taught to nor asked to track shipments before." He asked me to research this practice and come back before noon so we could get the outgoing mail on it's way. For some reason, I felt it more important to eat lunch than to look into it. So, when Sergeant Atterberry came calling for the data and bags, I wasn't ready. And I must say, I wasn't prepared for what happened next either. He simply said, "maybe next plane."

Now, at the time, it wasn't a huge issue to me, but once the other Airmen found out, it became an eye-opener. 'Ya see, there was a staff sergeant attempting to close on a house before time ran out, and that was the last mail shipment for 5 days. A technical sergeant had been previously notified of his wife's intention to pursue separation, and this was his first response to her letter received Tuesday. Additionally, the senior master sergeant's son was in a minor accident and this was daddy's note to his boy saying he couldn't come home yet, but dad was with him in spirit. Wow! I quickly learned a bit more about being precise, and with that, I knew I would be held accountable. For that, Sergeant Atterberry simply mandated I stay in the shop all night until I found the reference on tracking packages, details throughout the next week, and that I apologize to all for me not meeting the mark of an Airman.

Questions for all of us to think through...If the aircraft maintainer or communications Airman doesn't follow the technical order, what could happen? If the finance representative doesn't ensure our members get paid at 100 percent of what they should, what happens? If the intelligence Airman doesn't provide their best analysis, what occurs down range? If the logistician isn't exact on manifests, does it affect the balance of an aircraft and the safety of the crew? The answer to all those questions is bad things can happen and our reliability as America's Air Force is diminished.

I thank Master Sgt. Atterberry for being a person of character and holding me accountable for things I didn't do correctly. It's leaders like him that ensure America's Air Force is what it is...one of high standards...the most dominant Air, Space, and Cyber force the world has known...one that America's mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers have trust in and are proud of.

I ask you to commit yourself to high standards...do the right thing all the time and never settle for anything less than Excellence. You may not have a Sergeant Atterberry standing over your shoulder, but the approximate 330 million others counting on you should help.

Airpower!