Instilling core values helps achieve mission accomplishment Published Oct. 27, 2008 By Mr. William Lynch 52nd Civil Engineering Squadron SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- "You may talk of gin and beer when you're quartered way out here," wrote Rudyard Kipling many years ago when referring to the doldrums of battle when day-to-day life is so far removed from the battlefield. Complacency and boredom go hand in hand when the enemy seems distant and local conditions seem more like civilian life than that of the military. It's easy to see why driving under the influence violations are up and proficiency is down when the emphasis on important actions are far away. Where does that leave the Airmen with a long-distance view of their contribution to the mission? How does one fit into the accomplishment of the mission? The difference between implementing agile combat support and seeing combat support occur up close is simple - our core values. What we bring to the fight is real and meaningful to us and to those we serve. If you bring a bag of complaints and negativity, those around you will recognize you as someone who doesn't seek to improve the whole but to tear down what others before you have built. You are not the first to be assigned here and you will not be the last. What you do during each tour will follow you long after you leave. Years from now, you can look back on this assignment with the pride of the nation or with your self-centered negativity. It's up to you. The core values can help make your duties and efforts meaningful for you, for those that work with you and for the overall mission. Integrity is an intangible concept that you miss when you don't have it. You know what it is -- you probably were raised with it. It's right and wrong, black and white, and true and false. Many speak of the "gray area," but there isn't any gray area when it comes to integrity. Do you have the integrity to put your name and career on the line to support what is right? If not, you only are giving more lip service to integrity and are cheating yourself and those around you. Integrity first is more than an Air Force slogan; it is an American ideal. Thousands before you gave everything to allow you to put integrity first -- don't let them down. Service before self means it's not all about you. It is about a mission you support, make great and make meaningful. Without your support, we cannot accomplish the mission. Your part may seem small in the overall picture, but it means a great deal in our ability to attain mission success. A lack of contribution is selfish and hurts your fellow Airmen -- no one does it alone. Simply put, your service means more to the Air Force than you think. Putting teams together to accomplish missions means putting you in the picture and utilizing your skills and competencies to help complete that mission. That's why we call it service -- service to the mission, service to the country, service to you. It is what separates the U.S. from most other countries in the world. Which country are you serving? While you are performing that boring and mundane task you think has no importance to the mission or anything else, remember if you do it well, you will be remembered and if you do it poorly, you will also be remembered. Excellence in all we do is the prospect of group achievement from the sum of individual achievements. If each Airman does his or her job thoroughly and precisely, the mission as a whole will be accomplished. Very few Airmen get the opportunity to see bombs on target. But putting maximum effort into your job every day is what allows bombs to drop precisely on target, whether you see them or not. The few that are privileged to engage the enemy have you to thank. Without your support, nothing leaves the ground. You need integrity to put service before self and to always be the best that you can be. You and the Air Force deserve no less. William Lynch is the Resources Flight Chief for the 52nd Civil Engineering Squadron, is an Air Command and Staff College civilian graduate with 30 years of U.S. Federal service, has completed seven overseas tours and is a combat Vietnam veteran.