COMMENTARY>>Ounce of creed, dose of humility go a long way

By Chief Master Sgt. Richard Turcotte
314th Airlift Wing command chief

During our Commander’s Call last week, I had the privilege of reciting our Airman’s Creed with the men and women of the 314th Airlift Wing.

The next day, when I had time to reflect on what it meant to me, I recalled a statement made by the late and honorable Dr.

Martin Luther King: “If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, keep moving.”

Dr. King’s statement as profound as it was then, still holds true today in our perseverance as a society, as a free nation, and as members of our Armed Forces. It captures the essence of our Airman’s Creed in that it embodies the warrior spirit in everyone to never give up, to fight the good fight, to stand up against tyranny and defend those who can’t defend themselves, and to do it with integrity, honor and morale character.

As members of the Armed Forces, we are held to that exact standard every day, and in my opinion, no one comes closer to maintaining that standard than Airmen. What enables us to live this way, is our Core Values of “Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do,” and our willingness to truly be a selfless servant.

The road map to which makes this achievable is the internalization of our Airman’s Creed. For some, it’s just words on a piece of paper. For others it’s just something else to memorize. I would suggest it’s much more than that: it’s a doctrine of sorts that captures the essence of what an American Airman represents.

It captures the selfless act of an all volunteer force, it defines our mission and our commitment to service, our dedication and resolve to see justice prevail and our resolve to support those that support our way of life. It requires giving it your all on a daily basis with a great deal of humility.

Some would say humility is a sign of weakness... I would beg to differ. I have heard it said that “humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s about thinking about yourself less.”

It’s difficult at times to show humility, but if you take it within this context you can see that thinking about ourselves less, and placing the emphasis on others, affords us the ability to become selfless servants and better leaders. Not to mention the pride you feel when you see other Airmen succeed. I challenge all of us to show more humility as selfless servants.

Remember, we’re all part of something much larger and greater than any one of us. We must never leave those that support us behind. We must never falter in our pursuit.

After all, failure isn't an option.