RAF CROUGHTON, England -- When I was very young, my best friend and mentor was my Grandfather. To me, he was a larger than life, somewhat scary, John Wayne-esk type of man. He taught me so many things, but there were a few things that stuck with me the most: Do things right the first time, and take care of your things by having pride in ownership.
I will say that I wasn’t always very good at the first one, but pride in ownership is one that I’m much better at. So what does that mean to me and how does it apply to my Air Force career? Well, let me explain. You can only take ownership of things you control. When it comes to your Air Force career, what are some things you can control, and ultimately take pride in? To make this simple, I’ve broken it down into owning you’re A’s.
- Your “A”ttitude
- Your “A”ppearance
- Your “A”rea
All of these A’s are things that you have control over and if you have pride in your A’s, not only will your likelihood of success increase, but also the chances of you having a more enjoyable experience. Your Attitude is more than the super-smiley face you show up with on Monday mornings. More so, it’s the mindset that gets keeps you going through tough tasks or projects. A poor or negative attitude will not only impede your success, but it will inevitably permeate to others.
Your Appearance says a lot about you as a professional to others that may not know you well. Yes, we all have certain standards that we have to abide by, but there is a lot of room from just meeting standards, and sometimes pushing the limits or the patience of your First Sergeant, to exceeding the standards and putting forth your best effort to portray yourself as a professional.
Lastly, your Area can mean many things based on your duties and position. This could be as simple as your desk, office, section, or flight. Does your Area portray you and possibly your team as highly trained and credible professionals? Trust me, all these things matter in how in how you are perceived as a professional Airman. We all want to be thought of as credible, reliable, professional Airmen, and these are areas that we have absolute control over to ensure we are perceived the way we desire. Yes, there are many things that affect our careers, but not many that we have 100% positive control over. Sown your A’s, take care of them, be proud of what you do, and enjoy the ride.