COMMENTARY>>Whose uniform is it?

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

This past weekend chief master sergeants, past and present, had a holiday party. The main thing I took from the evening is our retired chiefs still take our mission seriously. Some of the questions and comments generated throughout the night caused me to ponder the responsibility we have in wearing our uniform. You see, our service is not about us, but more about the 99 percent of our nation who will never wear a uniform of our armed forces.

When you think about it, the uniform you wear is not even yours. You get to wear it on behalf of a free nation and its people. The day each of us finally take off our uniform, another will take our place in the time honored tradition of faithful service. We will be able to keep our uniforms, in the event our services are needed again, but your uniform belongs to our citizens.

Many polls show that our citizens place trust in the military above all other professions. Our civilian counterparts are counting on each one of us to wear our uniform with pride and the utmost professionalism. So my hope is that when each of you put on your uniform that you maintain the mindset that it’s a privilege to wear it.

I recently had Airmen show up to my office in their civilian clothes as a reminder of how quickly you can lose the honor of wearing our uniform. My words and intent is that if I ever see them again for a negative act, they will transition to civilian status. I thank all of the former chiefs for reminding me that our uniforms are not ours, but on loan by our nation. So now that you have been reminded of whose uniform you wear, you must get out there and be the best you can be.

Combat Airlift!