VIEW FROM THE TOP >> Be a “difference maker”

By Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Brinkley
314th Airlift Wing command chief


As we go through many transitions ranging from downsizing, realigning our wing, while supporting a more robust deployment schedule, each one of us is compelled to do all we can to leave our mark on our organization. I’m not talking doing more with less; I’m referring to looking at the best ways to maximize our talents and available resources to become more efficient while maintaining effectiveness.

Each Team Little Rock Airman should first understand how what they do daily contributes to training and exporting the most focused and lethal brand of C-130 and C-21 assets worldwide. To be a difference maker we must be able to connect what happens in the work section, the tactical level, to what takes place all over the world, the strategic level.

When I entered the Air Force 25 years ago, we had in excess of 600,000 personnel; this number has been essentially cut in half. This fact alone demands that we all assess what functions are necessary and what things we can learn to live without. Who better to engage in this discussion than each one of us in our work sections. Being a difference maker requires thinking outside the box; looking for more creative ways to streamline or eliminate processes that don’t support our primary mission.
Our wing encourages each of you to use your chain of command to up channel your great initiatives; we will in turn look at incorporating these ideas here as well as sharing them around the command. I thank each one of you for taking this leadership opportunity serious and helping us help ourselves. We realize that no one has the market cornered on great ideas so please realize that difference makers see themselves directly tied to the big picture while daily making things better for those around them.

Each one of us represents the best chance our nation has for maintaining its place as the leader of the free world. Less than .02 of 1% of our nation of over 330 million people wears Air Force blue. You are already making a difference; so let’s continue to improve on our daily processes.