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  • Swiss adventure

    Two young men are baptized in a fountain of near-freezing cold water, old friends wave goodbye and new friends trade hugs and contact information. The group of approximately 50 then prays together before climbing into buses, vans, trains and rental cars to begin the long journey back home. This is

  • Empowerment: lead, follow and get out of the way!

    "To lead the people, walk behind them." Lao TzuI remember sitting beside my son one Christmas morning as he was putting together a model airplane he just unwrapped. By looking at the box, it was going to look pretty cool. But as my son started to use too much glue and stick pieces in the wrong

  • Millennial leadership prevails in 1879, 2010 and beyond

    In their 2007 article "Military of Millennials," writers Art Fritzson, Lloyd Howell Jr. and Dov Zakheim described the next generation of soldiers as "tech-savvy, open-minded, multitasking, and perhaps unprepared" for the command structures of the modern military. They described a gap in

  • The PA dish on illegal downloading

    The 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs office encountered several stories across the base and beyond about people illegally downloading various media off the Internet, both at work and at home. Having a personal stake in media and its use both for personal and professional benefits, these PA Airmen

  • My thoughts on Diversity Day

    I grew up in a small, Midwestern town. It was rural and homogenous - kind of boring, really. There was one African-American family in my school system and two families with a Latin background, possibly Mexican but maybe Puerto Rican. Unfortunately, I didn't know enough at the time to ask. It wasn't

  • Good, bad news in early USAFE fitness returns

    After a month of testing under the new USAF Fitness Tables, there is both bad news and good news in U.S. Air Forces in Europe. The bad news is that in more than 2,000 tests administered in the month of July, our failure rate is approximately 23 percent. The good news is that a significant number of

  • Saber spouse I farewell

    I will be in Italy visiting my family for a few weeks just in time to get away from the inspection and to recharge my batteries before the change of command on July 13.While I am gone, I would like to ask you to please contact your key spouses, squadron first sergeant, squadron lead spouses or the

  • Local A/TA chapter volunteers at Special Olympics Day

    Since its inception in 2006, the local Halvorsen Chapter of the nationally recognized Airlift Tanker Association has focused not only on professional development, but also community involvement. This year we were fortunate enough to be invited to assist 800 athletes who took part in the Special

  • Expanded digital access requires same common sense

    Social networking sites are open to Air Force servicemembers and employees in the workplace. This change to policy has raised many questions about using social media officially and personally in the workplace.But when you get right down to it, little has changed. The rules established for Internet

  • AFAF not just for chiefs, widows

    In 2004, when I first signed up to give money to the Air Force Aid Foundation, I pictured retired chiefs and widows living at an old-folks home. My donations would ensure they had a place to live or food, or at least reduced their out-of-pocket expenses. A few months later, I, instead, became a