NCOs: professional organizations need you Published March 20, 2009 By Tech. Sgt. Bryan Daniel 3rd Air Force RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- Several times a year, during commander's calls or performance feedback sessions, we are all briefed on the importance of community involvement and how vital it is for each of us to support professional organizations. And, for the most part, we listen. Whether we simply attend meetings, are dues paying members or run for committee office, most of us do our part to be positive ambassadors of the armed forces through volunteerism. Undoubtedly, our first priority is to perform official business duties and mission accomplishment. "Excellence in all we do" provides us with the Air Force's vision of continuous improvement for long-term success, and with budgets and manning decreasing, it is imperative we search out our counterparts in order to increase efficiency. We do this on a daily basis by sharing checklists and continuity templates. Further, by applying the same organizational principles we are taught in military service and transferring them to professional organizations, we are often afforded the ability to extend our reach further than on active duty ... sometimes beyond our wildest dreams. In September 2008, I was nominated and elected as President of the Kaiserslautern Military Community's 5/6 Council. This position came along with the opportunity to help develop men and women in a five base region and has expanded my circle of influence to nearly 3,700 people. Recently, I led an effort to bring all of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe 5/6 organizations together to share information and practices. Each of our 5/6 organizations are now in a better position to affect the entire USAFE team. We are expanding our influence to more than 11,000 Airmen from Turkey to the Azores, and from England to Italy -- all because we united in breaking down the distance barrier and made a significant effort to form a highly effective team. By seizing the opportunity to be active in the KMC 5/6 and then contacting other 5/6 Council Presidents, all of the USAFE staff and technical sergeants now have the ability to freely communicate with others performing similar functions and address questions or concerns via a global forum. All NCOs who aspire to one day perform at a higher level need to take advantage of their chance to lead today and must be prepared for the challenges and lessons they will learn along the way. As Elbert Hubbard once said, "The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today." On behalf of all the professional organization committees throughout USAFE, I urge our staff and technical sergeants to take advantage of opportunities to progress and become active in your base and local communities. For more information regarding the Spangdahlem 5/6 organization, contact Tech. Sgt. Kristine Smith at 452-9351.