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  • Giving thanks to Americans for what they give us

    Have you ever noticed those AFN commercials where famous people and ordinary Americans thank the military for their service? How do you feel when you see those? Hopefully, you feel glad that most Americans are grateful for what you do. You should be proud that you volunteered to serve the greatest

  • Preparation key to a successful deployment

    Whether at home station supporting 11,000 assigned military personnel, family members and a critical flying mission or deployed in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom, Yokota Airmen continue to excel. As we prepare to deploy nearly 500 Airmen to the Central Command area of operations to

  • Patient change by incrementalism

    My father, Lloyd McClenny, was the superintendent of schools in a rural county of Alabama during the time of racial desegregation of public schools. The leadership lessons I learned from my father as a result of that experience were "diversity is strength" and "do the right thing, regardless of the

  • Wise man or a fool?

    A certain analogy can be made between climbing Japan's most famous mountain and life as an Airman. The mountain is majestic and beautiful from afar, rugged and tough when looked at closely. An Airman's life is often seen as soft by the other service branches, mostly in jest, but deployments and

  • To be American is to represent America

    Whether we know it or not, we are all ambassadors. As representatives of our country overseas, it is essential that we show the utmost respect for ourselves, our nation and our host country. Our behavior can directly improve or impair the degree of respect and support others show for America. The

  • Yokota Band spreads goodwill across Mongolia

    ULAANBATAAR, Mongolia -- As the first U.S. military band to travel to Mongolia, none of us knew quite what to expect. We knew that Mongolia is, per capita, one of the largest supporters to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Mongolia's military was gearing up for its eighth deployment of troops to

  • Excellent operations enable continuous compliance

    With the Environmental Safety and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment and Management Program rapidly approaching and the Unit Compliance Inspection arriving shortly thereafter, some personnel are a little anxious about how we will be rated during the upcoming inspections. Such a concern is

  • A combat commander's lessons learned

    My Air Expeditionary Force deployment to Bagram, Afghanistan was one of the most significant events in my Air Force career. Not only was it significant to have the opportunity to command in combat, but also due to the circumstances, unit dynamics and environment of this combat command. The lessons

  • Preventative Law Series: Keeping our identity safe

    You may have seen the Citibank commercials alerting people to the dangers of identity theft: a grandma sits in a rocking chair, rocking back and forth, but when she speaks her voice is gruff and male and the voice talks of spending thousands of dollars on basketball tickets, a fifty-inch flat screen

  • Who is getting your SGLI benefits?

    The Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) is a great program of low cost life insurance purchased by the government from private insurers. Members are automatically insured for the maximum benefit of $400,000, unless a member "opts-out" or explicitly limits coverage in $50,000 increments. The