VIEW FROM TOP>>Embracing change

By Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Brinkley
314th Airlift Wing Command Chief

I’ve heard it said that it is difficult to live with change, yet impossible to live without it. Change comes in many forms for those of us at Team Little Rock. We have just completed the 101 days of summer, yet there are different hazards associated with the changing season which we need to be aware of.

Our area is still recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav and as we speak we are ready to assist those dealing with Hurricane Ike. We must be adaptable to change because like the seasons, our lives will experience change. Are you prepared for the next storm of change in your life?

Currently, the Air Force is in the midst of force shaping; this means many of our Team Little Rock airmen will have to change their primary duties, and that can be stressful.

In less than one month, the major command most people in our wing are assigned to will change. Even our buying power has changed over the years; for those of you who have been driving for a few years, you can see that the price of gas has definitely changed.

I was chatting with Staff Sgt. Stephanie Gaither in regards to change and she’s one of our Airmen who will be cross training to another specialty. Sergeant Gaither put all of this change in perspective for me and I hope as you read this you will be affected in the same way. Her response was that whether our primary jobs change, we are Airmen first and as long as we realize our focus is on being the best Airmen possible then we’ll be O.K. So even as our wing reorganizes, our mission to provide safe and reliable aircraft across the world will not change!

So, our job is to keep our eye on the ball and advocate for resources to best take care of our Airmen and their families.

So I say to the challenges brought on by the storm, come with your best because we here at Team Little Rock will stand the test and succeed. Combat Airlift!