Commentary>>The daily grind matters

By Staff Sgt. Nicholas Palmer
48th Airlift Squadron, Loadmaster Instructor and Evaluator

Everyone is subject to the daily grind. It’s up for work, out the door, same old thing, day in, day out. “Work is only a grind if you allow it to become one”. My grandfather, R.C. Palmer, who passed away in 2007, used to tell me that all the time. R.C. lived through the Great Depression and was a veteran of World War II. He worked over 90 hours a week between his job at a newspaper and the family farm for over 60 years until his retirement. R.C. impressed upon me that a job is only a bad thing if you make it one. “They call it work for a reason, you know” he told me on several occasions.

The lessons I learned from him were simple. Hard work is a good thing and personal initiative determines whether that work makes a difference. In this time of economic crisis our country is currently in, hard work should not be seen as a grind, but a privilege. As Airmen we have the benefit of our hard work producing not just results, but results that preserve democracy and our great nation’s safety.

No matter what capacity you serve here at Little Rock Air Force Base, your task is essential to the mission being conducted. I am an instructor loadmaster in the 48th Airlift Squadron. My job would be very hard to accomplish on a daily basis without the efforts and hard work of a great many people. Without Air Terminal Operations Center, we would have no loads to airdrop, without the security police we would not have a secure flightline. Finance keeps me paid and allows me to focus on my task of teaching and not worrying whether or not my paycheck will show up. Life Support gives me the equipment to deal with just about any emergency possible. Gold Aircraft Maintenance Unit keeps the planes in the air and their efforts give me an aircraft that brings me home to my wife and sons after every mission.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and the personal initiative that helps me get my job done every day. Every time you see a Herk overhead, take a moment and watch. That aircraft and the crew on it getting the mission done, are the fruits of all our labor. Enjoy it. It humbles me to have such a large group of people supporting what I do. I intend to continue giving my best each day to honor your commitment to our mission. Anything less than that would be to forget the advice of my grandfather and you can bet I’m not letting him down.