COMMENTARY>>In pursuit of excellence

By Maj. Justin Barry
314th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander

Excellence ... What is it? We all know excellence is one of our Air Force Core Values—Integrity first; Service before self; and, Excellence in all we do. We know that our brothers and sisters in the 19th Airlift Wing will be striving to demonstrate their excellence in the upcoming Logistics Compliance Assessment Program and Operational Readiness Inspections. Certainly, I would say that our RODEO competition teams from the 314th Airlift Wing were excellent in their performance as they garnered awards for the Best Overall Maintenance Team; Best C-130 Maintenance Team; Maintenance Skills Competition Award (as both the best C-130 competitors and the overall winners); Best Overall Aircrew Team; Best Airdrop Score; and Best C-130 Wing. The dominance of the skies engendered by the Air Force, as demonstrated through the fact that no American ground troop has been attacked by an enemy aircraft since the Korean War is truly excellent. Absolutely, all of this is indicative of the “Excellence” we pursue, but still does not define what excellence is.

I was speaking with one of my Airmen recently, who was concerned that they might not be attaining the level of excellence demanded by our profession. They were concerned that in trying to balance the needs of their personal and family commitments against the requirements of the military, that they might not be able to achieve “Excellence in all we do;” that they might not be able to succeed in every facet of their personal and professional life.

I took our discussion as an opportunity to provide some clarifying feedback on my expectations of personnel in the squadron and the requirements of our military profession. I also was privileged to gain greater insight into the family demands and personal aspirations of my troop. I additionally was presented an opportunity to reflect on and clarify my own beliefs regarding what “Excellence” truly means.

Excellence—true excellence—cannot be fully measured by how many trophies or medals one wins. Not everyone will or can win a gold medal in the Olympics or is awarded a Nobel Prize. Failure in any given endeavor does not necessarily relegate one to mediocrity.

Aristotle is often quoted as saying, “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” From this, one can infer that excellence is actually found in the pursuit of excellence rather than attainment of individual goals.

American poet, Robert Silliman Hillyer once said, “Perfectionism is a dangerous state of mind in an imperfect world. The best way (forward) is to forget doubts and set about the task in hand . . . If you are doing your best, you will not have time to worry about failure.” This I believe is where one finds excellence. If, in pursuit of excellence, one sets aside doubts and dedicates themselves to giving the very best effort possible, in the end they can experience “Excellence in all we do.” This, in my mind is what defines excellence and I am proud to see it every day in so many of those I work with.

Remember that excellence is found in its pursuit. Thank you for all you do in support and defense of our great nation.