VIEW FROM THE TOP >> Change is nothing to fear

By Chief Master Sgt. Brooke McLean
314th Airlift Wing command chief


It’s venturing into uncharted territory. It’s going outside our comfort zone. It’s changing rank and finding our previous friends are no longer peers … they may even work for us.

Is it fear? No, it’s change. It’s the inevitable evolution of our lives that often leaves us with a hollow pit in our stomach and a dry mouth. Change in our lives can be one of the most traumatic events and has even been known to cause physical illness.  
The good news is our Air Force has prepared us from day one to recognize change, assess the positives and negatives and through training, education, and preparation. Transform it into opportunity and success. Impressions regarding the positives and negatives of change are easily influenced by leadership and this is a challenge for all levels of the chain of command.
We’re confronted with issues from housing dilemmas to Air Force wide manpower cuts that affect and touch us every day. Commanders will change and supervisors will rotate. Many of us will begin October in a new major command.

How we react to those changes is what defines us. How we support the chain of command can have tremendous impacts on whether the change occurs easily or meets resistance for longer durations.

The education, training and preparations provided by the Air Force are keys to making changes into opportunities.  

In the months to come, Little Rock AFB will pass through a window of change and we’re prepared to make this a great opportunity.

There are certainly going to be challenges and frustrations but we’re prepared and the key focus area of Little Rock AFB, providing Combat Airlift, will not change.