COMMENTARY>>Will you answer the call?

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

Lately it seems like I have been going to more and more retirement ceremonies and each of the honorees shared similar professional traits. The main one that they had in common was their readiness to step up and lead when they had the opportunity. If your boss wasn’t able to perform their duties, could you step in and lead?

If you stay around long enough, your name will be called to assume great responsibilities. One of the keys to an organization and individual being successful is the ability of the unit and member to embrace opportunities to grow. Each of us must fight to avoid getting so comfortable in our positions that we don’t look for new challenges to accept.

These principles apply in personal relationships; if you are serious about the people in your life then make positive growth a part of your life.

I believe each of us must periodically do a self assessment to determine if stagnation or growth is taking place in our lives. The retirees I referenced in this article also had another significant thing in common; they wanted to leave their Air Force better than they found it. On top of being ready to answer the call to greater responsibility, they also believed in setting up someone to replace them. You see when you answer the call, part of that process is leaving the next generation set up for success. So who is ready to replace you?

One day each of us will hang up our uniforms to open another chapter of life, and the hope is people will fondly reflect on how we answered our nation’s call. My hope for all of you is that you aggressively seek out every opportunity to improve, while posturing those coming through the ranks to run the next leg of this race.