COMMENTARY>>Own your process

By Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Brinkley
19th Airlift Wing command chief

While shopping at the base exchange this week, Ms. Bonita, who works there, got me thinking about what it means to own what you do. Whenever I go there, she seems intimately knowledgeable about what she is responsible for and she has a great attitude in doing her job.

Each one of us plays a key part in what we do for our nation, and we must do all we can to exercise focused control over our tasks.

My question is: Do you own your process?

The folks who guard our base see Little Rock as their base and take personally the security of our installation.

John Heffernan, who runs our retiree activities center, goes above and beyond to take care of our retiree population.

These are just a couple of examples of the mindset involved in owning your process. When you wake up in the morning and go about your day, my hope is that you tackle your primary duties like success began and ended with you.

When you take your role seriously, then you look for better ways to improve your product. Each day becomes a chance to leave your mark versus just filling a square. I truly believe we have extraordinarily talented people on our base, and by exercising ownership, we all benefit from innovation.

Some of the best ideas I’ve heard have come from some of our junior ranking folks as well as family members. The point I’m trying to make is when you invest serious time and energy into what you do everyday, you make yourself relevant and your voice becomes more important.

So, I thank Ms. Bonita for the reminder that each of us is uniquely qualified for our position at the “Rock.” We are all equal partners in the success of our mission, and we all own that.

Combat Airlift!