Podcasts about aviano air base

What does it take to lead at every level and shape the leaders of tomorrow? SUMMARY Long Blue Line podcast host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99 sat with Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman '95, the U.S. Air Force Academy's vice superintendent, for a deep dive into leadership, humanity and building a world-class service academy. This episode is packed with wisdom for aspiring, emerging, and seasoned leaders alike.   SHARE LINKEDIN  |  FACEBOOK   GEN. SHERMAN'S TOP 10 LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS  - Leadership is a human experience - focus on connecting with and caring about people.  - Love what you do and love the people you lead; passion inspires others to follow you.  - Embrace failures and challenges as opportunities for personal growth and development.  - Set the right culture and values within your team to build trust and mutual support.  - Be present and engaged with your team, understanding their motivations and experiences.  - Leadership is about more than rank or position - it's about earning genuine trust and respect.  - Invest time in understanding different generations, cultural nuances, and individual perspectives.  - Balance professional excellence with personal growth and life experiences.  - Support your team's development by providing encouragement and holding them accountable.  - Your legacy is built through individual interactions and the positive impact you have on people's lives.   CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Major General Thomas P. Sherman 01:29 Choosing Leadership Over Flying 07:23 The Impact of Mentorship and Values 12:46 Heritage and Evolution of Security Forces 17:43 Personal Growth in Aviano, Italy 24:17 The Importance of Work-Life Balance 29:50 Culminating Command Experience at Bagram 42:25 The Role of Family in Leadership 51:29 Continuous Self-Improvement as a Leader 56:27 Embracing Failure as a Growth Opportunity 01:00:06 Legacy and the Impact of Leadership   ABOUT GEN. SHERMAN BIO Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman is the Vice Superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. He is serving as the chief operations officer to the Superintendent and overseeing the Academy's blend of military training, academics, athletics, and character development for cadets. Gen. Sherman commissioned in 1995 from the Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. He built a distinguished career as a security forces officer. He's held command at nearly every level. His key assignments include leadership of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB and critical staff positions at the Pentagon. In May 2024, Gen. Sherman was tapped to serve as the Academy's Vice Superintendent   CONNECT WITH GEN. SHERMAN LINKEDIN     ALL PAST LBL EPISODES  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS       TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Guest, Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman '95  |  Host, Lt. Col. (ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99   Naviere Walkewicz  00:00 Welcome to Long Blue Leadership, the podcast where we share insights on leadership through the lives and experiences of Air Force Academy graduates. I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99 today. I'm joined by a leader whose career has taken him from the flight line to the halls of Congress and now back to the very institution that launched it all. Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman currently serves as vice superintendent of the Air Force Academy, where he plays a critical role in guiding the development of our future officers and ensuring the Academy remains a world class institution for leadership, character and Day 1 readiness to win the future fight. A 1995 Academy graduate, Gen. Sherman has spent nearly three decades serving in key operational, strategic and command roles. He's led at every level, from squadron to wing command, and his assignments have included everything from nuclear security enterprise to homeland defense, policy development at the Pentagon, and legislative affairs at the highest levels of the Department of the Air Force. Prior to his role as vice superintendent, Gen. Sherman served in the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, where he was a principal military assistant leading policy integration across joint staff, interagency services and combatant commands. He's perhaps best known in command circles for leading the 88th Air Base wing at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, one of the largest and most complex wings in the Air Force, with a focus on people first, leadership and mission excellence. Gen. Sherman, welcome to Long Blue Leadership. We're so glad you're here too.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  01:32 It is great to be here. Thank you.   Naviere Walkewicz  01:33 We're excited and we're going to dive right in, because I think what is so special for our listeners is really hearing these moments that have changed your life. I'd like to start at the Academy. You turned down a pilot slot. You were rated, but said no.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  01:48 Well, actually it was a little bit before that. You know, it's kind of interesting, because that was the draw that brought me here, is I just had this incredible passion to want to fly, and I love flying, and I truly enjoyed it, especially through all the different airmanship programs and things like and things like that we had here. The experiences were fantastic. But, you know, as I was starting to learn more about myself going through the Academy, I was starting to feel my heart getting pulled in a direction of wanting to really lead people and really spend a lot of time working with the enlisted. And I think that came from a couple different areas. I think it was some really unique exposure that I got during my ops Air Force time, which I went to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, during ops, and just had our action officer that worked this, I think just did a phenomenal job. And I really started getting pulled to what was then called security police. That is actually when Laurie and I got together and started dating, because Laurie is here in Colorado Springs, but she grew up as an Air Force brat. My father-in-law is a retired Chief Master Sgt., and so there was a lot of mentorship that was taking place around dining room table when I was a young cadet. And I think one of the things that her parents really taught me was just the value of the enlisted force, and so I was feeling my heart really getting pulled. And so obviously, there's a conundrum. There's a conundrum on what were the root desires that brought me here — what were the things that I was learning as a cadet, my joy of flying, and also, particularly the culture at that time, was that that was really the job that you needed to aspire to be, that was the expectation of cadets. And so then to really kind of run counter to that strong current was really kind of a unique, you know, almost unnavigated area, right? And so to really kind of take the story out to its next level is that I'd really gotten to a point where talking with people there — we hadn't had the AMT program, but there were these NCOs that were kind of tangentially attached to cadet squadrons. And so I got a chance to talk to one of the master sergeants that was there who was a maintainer by background. And I was kind of pouring my heart out to him on, you know, what had I been talking to him with my now in-laws, about where was my heart pulling me? And so he said, ‘Give me just a second.' And he picked up the phone, and he called my AOC and he goes, ‘Hey, you're gonna be there for a little while.' And this was a Friday afternoon. He said, ‘I got a cadet that needs to come talk to you.' And he hangs up the phone and he goes, ‘Now you go tell your AOC what you just told me.' And so I ended up going to my AOCs office that day, and we had about a two-hour conversation about this. I sat down and really, kind of took the time to explain to him what was I feeling, And obviously, I really try to see the best in people. And so I think from a noble place, he was doing his best to convince me that I was making a grave mistake. And went on to talk to me about what his concerns were, the career field that I was looking at, things along those lines. And we can save that conversation for another time, but I think really where the foundation came in is where we started to talk about leadership. And you know, what I was asking him to do was to pull my rated recommendation form, so we had just submitted them, and I was asking him to pull my rated recommendation form. I didn't want to compete for it anymore. And so we started to talk about leadership. And he says, ‘Hey, Cadet Sherman, you need to understand that leadership in this Air Force is being the lead F-16 pilot on a bombing run, you know, putting iron on target.' And that's true. It's a very important part of leadership. It is a very important part of tactical operational leadership in this Air Force. So he's not wrong in that space. But I was looking at it from a different lens, and I was looking at it, I think, on a larger level. And what I don't think he realized is that 30 seconds before I walked into his office, he set me up for success. I just happened to be waiting outside the office, and all of a sudden, I looked on his cork board, and somebody, and I don't know who it was, had pinned a note that was written to Airman Magazineby an airman first class. And this airman first class titled this, “I need a leader.” And this A1C felt so strongly about what they were feeling — and I have no idea who this person was — felt so strongly about it that they put pen to paper, and this would have been the fall of 1994, and sent this into Airman Magazine, and it says, “I need a leader.” Commissioning sources. ‘Send us lieutenants that we can look up to that will hold us accountable when we do wrong, that will encourage us when we do well, that will be an example that we can look up to, that will care about us as human beings, because you are not sending them to us now. Air Force, I need a leader.' Like that 30 seconds just before I walked into his office — that changed my life, and it changed my life, because for me, at that moment, what I was getting ready to go ask my AOC to do, what I was looking at inside myself, that became my charge. And so as we spoke, you know, 20-year-old Cadet First Class Sherman — I might have been a 21-year-old at the time — Cadet First Class Sherman pushed back on my AOC, and I said, ‘Sir, I disagree.' I said, ‘I want to be that guy. I want to be that guy that that A1c is asking for on your cork board outside, because that's leadership in this Air Force.' And so, to his credit, he said, ‘Hey, I want you to go think about this over the weekend. You know, think about what you're doing. Come back to me on Monday. No questions asked. I'll pull it if you want me to.' And I left there, and I remember feeling like, not like a weight had been lifted off my shoulder, but I almost felt like this sense of like, ‘Now I've got my purpose,' because that little article has shaped me my entire career, and I mean to this day, and at a scale. You know, as a lieutenant, my scale is this big on what I'm affecting to help do and be what that A1C needs to a wing commander. I always keep it in the back of my head, and after all of these years, I am still thinking about, Am I doing right by that A1C that 31 years ago, felt so strongly about something that they wrote a note to Airman Magazine, and that became my charge.   Naviere Walkewicz  08:09 That is incredibly powerful. I'm a little bit without words, because I'm thinking about, first off, being brave enough to disagree with an AOC. I mean, I think that takes courage in showing your leadership there. Were you always like that? Have you always been someone that is steadfast in a decision and being able to kind of speak out?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  08:30 So I get that from my parents. And, you know, I grew up in Corona, California. My mom and dad are amazing people. And we didn't grow up with a lot of money, and we grew up from a pretty meager background, and my mom and dad had made a decision early on in their marriage, when they had my sister and I, that my mom was going to focus to make sure that Nancy and I got an education, and my dad was going to work as many jobs as he had to to put food on the table. And sometimes my dad was holding down three jobs to make sure that we had nutritious food to eat, and my mom was working miracles to make sure that we were fed well, but that also that she was dedicated and had the time to volunteer for things like PTA, being involved as a class volunteer, making sure that we were involved in things and had exposure to things that what they did was they also instilled in me this really strong blue collar work ethic. And it was this aspect of, if I just roll up my sleeves and put in the work, anything is possible. And so on that line, this young kid growing up with a West Coast father and an East Coast mother, and just this, really neat family background that things for me, that I believed in I would go after with all of my heart and soul. And so I found out about the Academy when I was 12 years old. And so, you know, when I at 12 years — we were going to a community event there in Corona, and there was an officer recruiter — Capt. Craig. was her name — and we started talking. She says, ‘Hey, did anybody talk to you about the Air Force Academy?' And I said, ‘No, this sounds great.' So from there, I just made this decision as a 12-year-old, and I worked all the way through junior high and high school to get here, because to go to your point like, ‘I made a decision, I'm gonna see this thing through.'   Naviere Walkewicz  10:30 Whoa. OK, so you knew you were going to the Academy before you graduated high school.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  10:35 Yes, in my mind, there was no other option.   Naviere Walkewicz  10:39 And so anyone in your family serve, or were you the first one in your family to serve?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  10:43 So I am the first officer and career member of the family. My dad was drafted and went to Vietnam in 1967 and stayed through Tet of 1968. I had an uncle, Harry Lee Schmidt, who was a C-47 loadmaster in World War II and Korea, and my grandfather was actually a part of the initial kind of what was the foundation of the OSS and the Navy doing beach recon on beaches in the South Pacific, prior to island hopping campaign and island landings. And so there was this real heritage of service, right? Just not career service. But even then, as a kid, I always had in my mind, ‘OK, one way or another, I'm going to serve, and if I do an enlistment and then go to college afterwards —' but I had this idea that, ‘OK, I'm going to serve,' and then all of a sudden, this became this amazing conduit that got me here, right?   Naviere Walkewicz  11:38 And they also had ties to aviation. How did they feel about your decision, your family?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  11:43 It was interesting, because they knew how passionate I was about aviation growing up. I mean, we did not miss an air show at March Air Force Base, the Chino air show, which was planes of fame, which was all historic aircraft. I volunteered as a high school student to work there, and we helped restore airplanes with me and my friends. You know, it was interesting, because my parents were very supportive in ‘OK, where's your heart leading you? And, what makes you feel so strongly about this?' Because when I first talked to him on the phone, I called him from Ramstein Air Base and said, ‘Hey, I think I know what I want to do in the Air Force. I want to go to security police. And my mom was like, ‘What's that? And, so, as time went by and I explained it, I think my parents probably all along knew that that was probably going to be a very good fit. And then after commissioning and at my first assignment, I think that they were certain of it, right? Yeah, they were absolutely certain.   Naviere Walkewicz  12:37 That is amazing. Well, I want to dive into this profession a bit, because it's interesting. You know, you've mentioned, when you came in, it was security police, and, security forces and you hear people saying defenders and peacekeepers. So there's this lineage and this heritage. Can you maybe talk a little bit about that and then maybe lead us into that next transformational moment that you might have had in this role?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  12:58 OK, I'm very proud of the fact that, you know, I am part of an ever decreasing group of folks that came in when we were still security police, and that was really still the peacekeeper days, because this was all kind of the follow on on the Cold War. The peacekeepers were our cold warriors and that was a huge part. Our defenders came in and really, that name started to really grow in 1997 when the name changed from security police to security forces, and we were actually going back to some of our heritage that was in Operation Safeside, which was the combat security police squadrons in Vietnam. So when you think about the courage that was displayed during the Tet Offensive at places like Tan Son Nhat that those were safe side warriors that were a part of these combat security police squadrons. And so the very — part of the lineage of the very beret, and flash that we have is actually a tip of the hat to the lighter blue berets, and that flash with the Falcon and the crossed runways that goes back, actually, to our Safeside heritage days. The beret goes back even farther than that. It goes back to Strategic Air Command, Elite Guard back in the 1950s. So it's this great lineage. And so, you know, for me, part of it was like when I got my first beret, wow, that meant something to me. And then, you know, as we then kind of transformed along the way, and this amazing career field grew, and the aspects of this air based ground defense, which was really, I would say, was kind of the draw that got me into wanting to go into security police, was I really liked this idea of, ‘How do we do base defense?' The law enforcement side was intriguing to me, but it was based defense that just had me just had me captivated.   Naviere Walkewicz  14:44 And was that something that you found out early in your career? After you graduate the Academy, you're now in security police. Is that when you kind of realized, ‘This is where I want to go in, air, base, ground defense.'?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  14:54 It even happened at ops. So as we were spending time with the security police squadron, I ended up spending time with a captain who was heading up the Elite Guard, and there was an interaction we had as I was doing a ride along. He's like, ‘Hey, you need to come see me.' And so I went and met up with him, and he took me around and introduced me to all of his airmen that were part of the guard. He knew something all about them. And then we went to his office and talked, and he had gone to Ranger School and Airborne and things like that, and said, ‘Hey, like, the future of the career field is actually us looking to the past.' And really kind of got me fired up on what we call back then, air base ground defense. So when I got to McChord — McChord Air Force Base was my first duty station. And the great thing about going to AMC first is it AMC is a mobility — I mean, it is all about mobility and the operations associated with it. And so the first thing that that my task was as the second lieutenant in that squadron was, I was the air base ground defense flight commander. So that was, I mean — we would go out to Fort Lewis, and we would bivouac for days. And I had, you know, a 44 person team that was a base defense sector. I had specialized K-9 units heavy weapons. And back in those days, we had 81mm mortar teams and fire direction centers that we would set up. So I just got completely on board with the air base defense piece. And so that was that was very passionate for me, which then made the next step to Korea an absolutely logical next location, going to the wolf pack at Kunsan, not only getting a chance to then stand up Gwangju as a part of the first Air Expeditionary Unit to go back to Korea since the Korean War, but then doing the mobile reserve aspect of it. And it was just a great assignment.   Naviere Walkewicz  16:40 Wow. So you were right in from the very beginning. You got kind of just into it all.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  16:45 So when we go back, when you were talking to me about, ‘Hey, when you make your mind up...' So I had this five-year plan built out. And, you know, my five-year plan was ‘OK, I'm gonna do my first assignment at the first opportunity to PCS. I need to go remote. I need to go to Korea. And then, OK, how can I get another overseas assignment after that? And then what do I need?' So the thought was, “Let me get to as many match comms as I can, as fast as I can in my career, and use that as a place — OK, because I want to build my experience base out. Because even as a lieutenant and young captain, I didn't want to come across as a one-trick pony. So my thought was, “Let me just get as much as I could under my belt early on.' And so after I left Kunsan, I ended up going to Aviano Air Base in Italy, which, for me, when you look at like those moments in life that are transformational, this was transformational on a different level. You know, some assignments you go to are very much professional growth assignments. This assignment, for me, was very much a personal growth assignment.   Naviere Walkewicz  17:52 OK, so tell me more.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  17:55 I mean, when you think about it, four years at USAFA, very uniquely focused on a plate that is overflowing with things that you need to get done. So you are, you're focused on, you know, everything from grades to military training to all of those things. And then I get to my first base, and I am just working, and I'm volunteering for everything, and we have got a heavy ops tempo of exercises and things like that. And my leadership was fantastic, because they were throwing me into every opportunity I could. And then, boom, I go to Korea, and that is a unique warfighting focused — and at Kunsan especially was heavily warfighting focused. So now all of a sudden I am spending really, when you think about it, the last almost seven years being uniquely focused on mission, right? And so I get to Aviano Air Base, Italy, and the first thing that happens is Operation Allied Force kicks off. So I get there in January, boom. Allied Force kicks off. I think it was in end of February, beginning of March. And wow, what? Again, what an amazing, mission focused experience. And then after we finished up Allied Force and the base returned back to more of its steady-state standpoint, it was the Italians that took me under their wings, that because I made a specific choice, because I grew up — my mom's side of the family are all Italian immigrants — and I was always at my Nonnie and Papa's house, and there was just a lot of that growing up, which is that whole, like, you know, West Coast dad, East Coast mom thing, but I didn't know, you know, my mom and her brothers never spoke Italian. And there was a lot of that, that thought back in those days that, you know, ‘Hey, we're here to be American, so we're going to learn English, and we're not going to speak, you know, the language that we came from,' right? And so my mom and her brothers really never learned to speak Italian. And so my thought was, ‘Gosh, I grew up with this as such a strong part of my childhood that I need to put myself in a position where I can learn the language and start to kind of get an appreciation on the culture. Together.' And so I specifically — and really lucked out on a location, but I was about 20 kilometers away from Aviano. I was in an amazing town. I was the only American living in the complex that I was in. So I was like, ‘If I'm going to learn, I need to just dive in the way that you do, in the way that I do, and just start learning.' And so I ended up kind of building this support group of Italian families that all kind of took me under their wings.   Naviere Walkewicz  20:27 Wait, I have to ask you a question, because back when you're at the Academy, you said you spoke to your now in-laws. So was Laurie not a part of this?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  20:35 So Laurie and I, right. So that's an important part of the story. Laurie and I dated for two years while I was a cadet, and when I was in tech school, her and I made the very difficult decision — and as painful it was — to part ways, so her and I actually parted ways for a few years. I was single at the time. Laurie was still here in Colorado Springs, and I was getting a lot of assignments under my belt, which, to be honest with you, you know, in retrospect, it was very fortunate, because I may not have made the same assignment choices had I been married at the time. And because I wasn't married, there were no other variables that I needed to factor in, other than personal experience goals, right, that I wanted to play into, and so I could just put down whatever assignment I wanted, and that allowed me the opportunity to just focus on job. And while Laurie and I stayed in touch, and I stayed in touch with her parents over the years, I was in Aviano, and her and I were not together at that point,   Naviere Walkewicz  21:39 That makes sense. I was like, why were you alone in Italy?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  21:43 It's a fair question. But I also think that being single in that environment allowed me — and that's where I think it helped me develop as a person. And so there are a lot of, I think, really wonderful things that happened during that time, and that was because I was so uniquely mission focused. It was these, this amazing group of Italian friends together, that really kind of taught me about there, there's a time to relax, you know, there's a time to work, there's a time to relax, and there's also a real human need to enjoy life and enjoy time together, which is quintessentially Italian. And so, as my pool of this, these amazing people — that  by the way, for the last 25 years, we've been going to visit. It's the same families that took me under their wings when I was a lieutenant, are the same families that were all tuning in as we were doing a live stream of me pinning on my second star. And so I've never been stationed anywhere else in my career where I felt more at home. And so I think this sense of like, ‘Wow. This like independently as my own person, this feels like home.' And as time went by and I started to get an appreciation for actually things that were a part of my childhood. Because, you know, we would have these long, huge meals, we would spend four or five hours at the table as a family. And for me, this was all normal. Well, that was also a part of kind of normal Italian life and normal Italian culture. You're not going out to dinner with your friends unless you're investing at least three hours at the restaurant. But for me, this was all — this felt normal to me. And so it was about, you know, you don't need to eat your food in five minutes.   Naviere Walkewicz  So contrary to USAFA, by the way.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN You know, you don't need to chew no more than seven times and swallow. So it was about experiencing that, and learning even just some things that became personal passions. Like, you know, how wine is made and why wine pairing matters, and how is this process? And so all of a sudden, this personal experience — and I think growing as a human being was taking place there, and I was maturing as a human being because I had gotten all of this phenomenal job experience under my belt, but this was where I was growing as a human being. And you know what's interesting, as time has gone by, I have noticed just how impactful that time was, because there are things that I've noticed, even as a senior officer, that I feel very strongly about, that I don't think I felt as strongly about as a junior officer, and it was because of that experience, and it was the aspect of when people are on leave, let's let them take leave. There is a part of the human experience that you need to enjoy time with people that you care about, because what it does is you're not slacking off from work. You're not leaving everybody hanging. What's happening is that, because you're taking some time to just enjoy life with people you care about, when you come back, the restorative effects that have taken place because you simply breathe and you enjoyed what it was that you were doing and whatever your passion was, you know, unencumbered, you could enjoy that. And we all realize that there are times, especially as you get into positions of authority, that, hey, they're going to need to call you periodically. But what was interesting is that, especially, I mean, I'll give an example as a wing commander. As a wing commander, despite realizing how important that mission is and how big Wright-Patt was, we, Laurie and I took leave, and we took two weeks of leave, and we went back to Italia and visited our friends and enjoyed life, because the culture helps us to slow down. But what it also did is I gave my staff some parameters. ‘Hey, here are the things that I think are important, like on a scale of one to 10. Here are the things that I think are an eight. So an eight or higher, call me. Don't text me.' I said, ‘Physically call me, because I will answer the phone knowing it's for — and then you have my undivided attention.' But what it also does is it means that my vice wing commander who is there, that I am empowering my vice wing commander and showing to everybody else I trust this leader to lead this wing in my absence. And if it's something that really needs my involvement, they'll get a hold of me. But I think our junior leaders need to see that at the senior most levels, that I can physically trust and emotionally trust my vice, my deputy, to hold things down while I'm gone, and that I'm not irreplaceable, and that if I did my job as a leader, I set the conditions that allowed the wing to thrive in my absence, and didn't mean that the wing had to hang on every decision I made or every word that I said, that I set the conditions that allowed them to be successful and fostered the leadership that allowed them to lead in my absence. And I felt great while I was gone, because I knew the people that we had there, and I knew the investment that we made in them. So that was kind of a long, you know, trip around this…   Naviere Walkewicz  27:26 I mean, I think it was so powerful that you kind of learned that about yourself in Italy. And then would you say that there was anyone that you saw emulating that? Or was it just something over time, you developed this realization that you need to enjoy life and you need to allow people the space to do so.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  27:43 So I would say the people that I was emulating in that aspect were a lot of the families that were there. I have been fortunate that I have worked for some commanders who, at different times in their life felt the same way. Conversely, I also worked for commanders that did not feel the same way. And, you know, an interesting case in point on something that on an experience I had in a command bill and after I had left Aviano — this is when Laurie and I were back together; we were married at this point. I had a group commander that was frustrated about me taking leave and called me every day at 1500; every day at 1500 I got a telephone call. And you know what that does is now all of a sudden, you're eating lunch, and the clock is getting closer to 1500 and you start to get that knot in your stomach and you're like, ‘OK, what are we going to talk about today?' And so, unfortunately you don't see some of the same appreciation for that across the board. So how do we deal with it? The best thing that we deal with it is that that's where the buck stops. We don't pass it down to our people. So after I got the call from him, I didn't call back to the squadron. I got the call from him. We went through the call, we answered the questions, and I didn't then immediately turn around and call back to my ops officer who was running the Squadron at the time, and say, XYZ. And we just left it there, because at that point in time, the bucks got to stop it at that point. So I think that that's kind of the, you know, the alpha and the omega of learning and then also having your own personal resilience and courage to say, ‘I accept that the buck stops here, and I'm not going to let this roll downhill to my people.'   Naviere Walkewicz  29:41 That's an excellent leadership lesson, because I was going to ask you, ‘What does that look like, and how would you how would you handle that?' And so you went right into that. Thank you so much for that. So what has it been like leading security forces — defenders? What's it been like? Has there been a moment in time where — a particular assignment or something's really stuck into your mind or into your heart, because it's just really affected you?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  30:05 Absolutely. I will tell you, as we go back, as we were kind of talking about decisions that you make in your youth, and that critical decision that I made in the fall of '94 I mean, I have worked with some of the most amazing people I've worked in my life. I have gotten a chance to go to places I never thought that I would see. And so, when you kind of roll up, I would say it was my final squadron command, and I would say that that was a real culminating squadron command. So I commanded four squadrons, and we command early, and we command often, and there's a lot of responsibility that that's placed on us as young officers to command as a young officer. And so having the opportunity to command two times as a captain, or one time, you know, as a major-select, then as a major, then as a lieutenant colonel. So that culminating command would have been Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan in May of 2012 to May of 2013 and you know, it was interesting because all of my previous squadron commands had all been vested in either the contingency response or the kind of combat contingency environments. And it was almost like all of those were leading me to this moment. So let me just kind of set the conditions on what Bagram was like at that point in time. We had grown the squadron to about a 1,200-person squadron, huge squadron. And what we were also responsible for is we had taken over battle space ownership from the Army. So the Air Force was controlling 220 square miles of battle space throughout Parwan province, which is a huge. I mean, it's twice the size of Washington, D.C., if you want to try to give a comparison, more or less is fair to look at that level as just a huge amount of terrain in which our airmen were responsible from everything from humanitarian operations and goodwill outreach to engagements to literal kinetic action and combat in the battle space. And so a part of this culmination was, was an environment where as the defense force commander — as that squadron commander to them as a lieutenant colonel at that point — I mean how we are weaving ourselves into their lives, and how we are working with their section commanders, and how we're working and managing the value of our perimeter defenses with our teams that were going outside of the wire doing legitimate patrolling and engagement and things along those lines, was huge. And I think that that is an example. And when you look in the rearview mirror to say, ‘Gosh, now this, a lot of this makes sense, like all of these assignments, whether by design or whether by fate, somehow gave me an experience that at this moment, I needed it most.' And I think, as I talk, we've really enjoyed being here with the cadets and talking to them about, how does a leader really develop trust, and how does trust really manifest itself? And so, through the time that we were there, and the engagement as their leader — not just the leader who's just simply circulating, because that's important, but they also need to see your decision making and your strategic thought. And how do you react under pressure? How are you reacting as we've got incoming in, and what do you do being the person in the joint defense operations center, helping to manage that, and how are you both taking care of people, and how are you managing mission? And they see that. And so I would say that the development of that level of trust, especially in an environment where you are literally dealing with high costs, is huge. And so I think there was one, situation that really rests on my heart that and I don't talk about this to give validation, but I think I talk about it on it's about how people connect, and why do I feel so strongly that leadership is a human experience, like this is a what we are doing as a human experience. And so I was retiring my chief. So I was asked by my chief at Bagram — this was some years later. He's out of the 105th Base Defense Squadron out of the New York Air National Guard, and him and I were a phenomenal team there. Dave Pritchard and I just made a great team. And so he was retiring, and asked me to come back and do his retirement. So we had done the retirement ceremony. We were at the VFW afterwards, having his after-party and so forth. And so I had gone into the bathroom for a comfort break and washed my hands and things like that. And I noticed, as I was kind of moving towards the bathroom, there was kind of a young man who was kind of floating. You know, floating around. And so I came out of the restroom as I was finished, and he was waiting there at the exit of the restroom for me, and kind of, you know, got in front of me, and he stood there, and he looked at me, and he goes, ‘Hey, sir, I just, I needed to let you know this, that I was one of the airmen in one of your patrols that got hit by an IED, and he said, your investment in us, and the words that you used and when you came to talk to us, and the faith that you had in us gave me the courage to go back outside of the wire when you asked us to go back outside.' And so why that rests so heavy is when you think about what, what is the what is the con? The consequence there is that somebody believed in you so much that when you spoke to them and said the word, they were going to go back out and do it again, in spite of what had just happened to you. And I don't think there is any stronger level of trust that you can ask from somebody than to have one of those moments. And so that moment just resides very, very heavy on my soul, because I think it puts into real, tangible context, what is the responsibility of leadership? What is your responsibility of leadership?   Naviere Walkewicz  36:42 I'm letting that sit a little bit, because I can't even imagine the amount of feeling that you had first for him, the courage to share that with you. Because I'm sure that he really wanted to share that. I'm curious if you can remember perhaps, what he might have been referring to, like what you were sharing with the men and women there.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  37:02 So, you know, it was also a part of things that, in times after Bagram have really been used for me as a senior leader on why I reinforced the importance of values. And, this was one particular incident there that really comes to mind is, and I use this when I when I talk to people, because I again, it's the consequence, and it's why our responsibility as leaders to set the right conditions and culture and all of that is so incredibly valuable. And so I talked to people about a story about we had had a situation where we had some real destabilization in the battle space. There was a particular village that we were having some unique challenges with, and we were doing a lot of kind of battlefield shaping, and we were doing some particular village engagement, and the engagement just wasn't happening. And so we were now kind of starting to escalate our interaction with the village a little bit more and as we were doing that, we were now going to start doing more shaping operations. So it just so happens that one of these nights —this was in the late fall, early winter of 2012 — and we were sending one of our patrols outside to do some shaping and engagement operation there. But this was in the evening. This was a different aspect that we were working for this particular mission. And so mounted up that the airmen are ready to go. They're pushing outside, they're right on time, and everything is going according to plan, and they are getting close to what we call the objective rally point. So that was where they were going to rally up before they actually moved into the village after that. And so everything was going according to plan. And the only thing they needed to do before they got to the objective rally point was really kind of go down a small gully over a rise, and then they meet at their objective rally point at that point. And so teams are moving out. First truck over the rise, getting to the point. Second truck over, everything's going fine. Third truck over, fourth truck after that, BOOM, off goes the IED. And what had happened is, they were waiting for this opportunity, and they knew exactly what to do. And that is, if you hit the last truck in the movement, you've got three trucks that are gone ahead of time, and now we've got folks in a very precarious situation. And so what I talk to people about, when we talk about conditions and the real impact that a leader has, is I'll talk to them about who was in that truck, who was in that MRAP that we were sending down at that point in time. And inside that MRAP was the face of America. And the explosion was significant, and it did some considerable damage. It threw the engine out of it, penetrated the hole, ripped one of the doors off the side in the front. And so, you know, the truck commander was National Guard from, actually from Tennessee, and he had gotten injured, broken an arm because that door had peeled back. And as the door peeled back, his arm got caught and broke his arm. The driver, Asian American coming out of the state of California, active duty. He had injuries to his legs because of the penetration of the hole. We had a gunner up in the turret, African American female from the New York Air National Guard. She had a broken pelvis at the time, and she just stayed on the gun the entire time despite her injuries. We had our radio operator. European American female coming from the Midwest. She was actually Air Force Reserve. She had a case of TBI from the explosion, and she was still making calls on the radio. We had two of our riflemen in the back, both came from Hispanic heritage, one of them from Puerto Rican heritage, one of them from Mexican heritage. They were very fortunate that while they got tossed around the back and had some minor TBI issues, they were more or less bumps and bruises, and they were all by themselves. Yeah, because they were all alone, they were in the middle of Afghanistan, they had just gotten hit. And so for me, what's so important about that story is that if we did not set the right culture and the right values and the right expectations and be in a leader by example, and they were harassing each other on Bagram, and they were assaulting each other on Bagram, and they weren't respecting each other on Bagram, and they didn't care about each other on Bagram, they would have died out there that night. But they treated each other like a family, and they cared about each other like a family, and they took care of each other like a family that night, and they lived and they all came home. So for me, if we're going to talk about what is the true consequence of leadership — and I use consequence deliberately, because oftentimes that's used in a pejorative manner — but this is the true result of your actions, that if you don't set those conditions, then you are legitimately putting your people at risk. And so that whole experience at Bagram, and in so many ways that we all carry our scars and our bruises and things like that. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world, but that was tough. And I often describe it as a tale of two cities. You know, it was the best of times. It was the worst of times.   Naviere Walkewicz  42:34 I think a lot of times, when leaders go through experiences like that, they have some more fortunate than others, but a support network. And I would guess it would be your family. How has your family played a role in these moments in your life, in helping you as a leader?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  42:54 So I will say it's primarily my wife. I have got this wonderful support of parents and my in-laws and so forth. And what's been truly fortunate is how close I am with my in-laws. Because when Laurie and I were dating while I was a cadet, anytime I had an overnight or weekend pass, I was over at her mom and dad's house and so I think that being married to somebody that has truly known you from the beginning, you know, where, whether we got a training weekend going on, or something like that, or I'm working first BCT or whatnot, that Laurie was a unique part of all of these things. And I would say that it has been incredibly heartwarming to watch her interact with the cadets here, because it's fun, because her and I do everything together. And so as we're going to events, I'll have a group of cadets that I'm talking to, and then I'll look over and Laurie's surrounded by a group of cadets who are asking her just very insightful questions about our experiences together, and ‘Was it tough sending them away on deployments?' Or how, you know, in those tough times, ‘How do you how do you keep your marriage together?' Just really insightful questions to ask, but she has just been so central to everything that I do. And so going back a little bit and talking about, like the strength of our relationship and how much that helps, we actually needed to have that breakup period as horribly painful as that was, and wow, was I carrying a torch for her all of those years. I mean, I remember, you know, as time was going by, I would talk to my mom, and I'd be like, ‘Mom, I just wish that Laurie could see the man that I become.' But we needed that time because oftentimes, and what we found in ourselves, we didn't know it at the time, because you're living in your environment and you can't see it, right? Is that in youth, things are often absolutes. And you often will get to a place where you're starting your marriage, your relationship is growing. And if you start to talk about marriage, there are things that we have found were absolutes for us. You know, certain things that we did, how we practiced our faith. Did we open up presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but the expectation was somebody was going to have to give up their particular tradition to conform to the tradition of one of the spouses. And in your youth, that seems reasonable, and I think we needed that time to be apart, having had that time together at such an important time in each of our lives here. But we needed that time apart, because I think we needed that frame of reference as we grew as people into adults. Grew as young adults. And now all of a sudden here I'm getting multiple assignments, and now being thrust into leadership positions with accountability and authority, and then coming back to that, all of a sudden, you're realizing, ‘Gosh, the world just isn't always in absolutes. And maybe a marriage doesn't have to be zero sum, but maybe a marriage can be positive sum.' And do we really have to make somebody give up something that is important to them, that is a part of their identity? Because somehow you feel like you have to conform your marriage into one side or the other. And so, I think for us that was that was so incredibly important. So to kind of get to that story is that, you know, I left Aviano and I went to Al Dhafra. I was in Al Dhafra actually for September 11. It was my first squadron command, but it was a squadron command I wasn't expecting, because I came there as a chief of security forces for about a 70-person security forces flight as a part of the 763rd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron at Al Dhafra. And then all of a sudden, 9/11 happens, and we went from about 400 people on Al Dhafra to about 4,000. And you know, U-2s came in, ISR platforms came in. Everything changed. And all of a sudden, this 70-person security forces flight that I had grew into about a 350-person security forces squadron. And AFSET said, ‘Hey, Sherman, you built it, you keep it, and we'll replace you with a major when you leave.' And I was a six-year captain, and so then finishing up that assignment, and I got picked up for — there was a point to that story — but it was about coming back, is that, hey, I got these new, unique experiences that grew me under my belt. And then I came back to do an AFIT program at Cal State San Bernardino. And that was the moment that brought Laurie and I back together.   Naviere Walkewicz  In what way?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN And so, I had a health scare. Nobody knows what it was. We never figured it out. Doctors never figured it out. But it was one of those things, like, all of a sudden, I shotgun something out to everybody I knew. I said, ‘Hey, doctors are a little bit concerned, you know, keep me in your thoughts.' And so Laurie, Laurie is like, ‘Holy cow, you can't just send a one liner and leave it at that.' So she called my mom and dad and said, ‘What's his phone number?' And so it started to turn into ‘Hey, give me all of your test results after you get it back.' Then pretty soon we're talking a couple times a week, and then pretty soon we're talking every other day, and then we are talking every day. And the beauty of this was that we already knew each other, so we already knew what everybody's favorite color was — by the way, Laurie's is purple. We knew what music each other liked. We knew things about each other. And some of the things that actually drew us together when we were dating here was, you know, we had things like some common family traditions, like, you know, Italian fish on Christmas Eve and sitting around the table for hours and stuff like that were all things that we had in common. So we already knew that about each other. Now, her and I on the phone, we're getting into some real, like substantive discussions, children, faith. How do you how you raise children? How do you know, what are we going to do for different traditions? What happens if I have to take a remote; what does that mean? And so we were getting into these really, deep conversations. And, you know, I would come back from either class or then when I PCs to the security forces center out at Lackland, you know, I would come home from work, and this was in the old flip phone days where you had a battery that came off the back. So I would have one battery in the charger, and then I would have an earbud in, and I'd have the phone in my pocket. Yeah, and I'd come home and to call her, and we would just go throughout the evening. So I'm ironing BDUs at the time, shining my boots and stuff like that, and so, and we were just talking. And then we were just kind of like living life together. And, after that point, it became very clear that those two young people who sincerely cared about each other, now, each of us grew up and had experiences in a place that allowed us to really appreciate each other and really love each other. And you know, we were married just a little over a year after that. And it has been phenomenal, her support. And I think one of the great testaments to that was, 10 days after we got married, I went to Baghdad, but she's like, ‘I grew up in the Air Force. I know how this works. We're gonna move the house. I'll get the house put together.' And she's also a professional in her own right, which is great. So she was working in a legal office here as a paralegal and legal assistant here in Colorado Springs, and has been a GS employee for the last 18-plus years. So what's great is she, too has her own aspect of service. What I love about it is that in the jobs that she's in and then the jobs that I'm in, we can talk shop, and then we cannot talk shop, right? And so she's the first person I go to if I have to ask a question, she's the first person that I'll go to say, ‘Hey, did I do that right? Or do I need to backtrack on that a little bit?' Because she knows me, and she knows me completely, and that level of trust and love and faith that we have for each other has truly enabled me to be able to serve our airmen on a level that I don't think would have been possible without her.   Naviere Walkewicz  51:59 Would you say that she's had a role in your development as a leader, in the way that you lead.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  52:05 Oh, absolutely, absolutely, because, and I love it, because her experience as a brat and her dad as a chief gives her a very unique lens to look through. And so the advice that she gives me she can give me from her teenage self in some way, you know, from that experience, watching how her dad interacted with something or knowing her aspect about this. And then as she's developed professionally, working on the E-Ring at the Pentagon a couple different times, working for very senior leaders, knows how to navigate that space. So then I'll go to her for advice, like, ‘Hey, how did your boss handle something like this?' ‘Well, let me tell you what, how we work through this...' And so I would absolutely say that that Laurie has uniquely influenced and helped me to become the best version of myself that I can be.   Naviere Walkewicz  53:03 Wow. Well, I want to ask you a little bit about developing yourself as well, because one of the questions we like to ask is, what are you doing every day to make yourself a better leader? Can you share what that might be?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  53:17 I've said it a couple times during this: I truly believe that leadership is a human experience, so for me, it's about the interaction. And so oftentimes, advice that I've given to people — like there are amazing resources abound that can help people, give people leadership perspectives, and we can either learn it from history, or we can learn it through study. We can learn it through analysis. We can learn it through books. And I've always talked to people about use the external tools that help to grow you, but make sure that you're using it to influence the personality that you already have. Because oftentimes what happens is, is that people will have this really strong desire to say, “OK, I want to make sure that I do this right. And so in doing this right, let me make sure I've got my checklist, and so I'm going to greet them, I'm going to ask them how their family is, I'm going to ask them if the kid did all right in the baseball game. And I'm going to go through my checklist, and if I do that, I fulfill my leadership obligation.' Now not everybody does, and I'm making generalities on but, but I think that there can oftentimes be the allure that when you are focusing on what may be the theory or the principle of the day, and not using it to supplement and grow and mature your personality, that there is a strong allure to want to wholesale replicate what it was that you learned, and you're doing it in a noble place. It's not nefarious. It's being done in a noble, genuine place. But there's that allure to say, ‘OK, good, I really like what I've learned. I'm going to do these things and step through.' And so why I talk so much about the experience, and why I talk so much about the interaction, is that the more that you know the people that you may be influencing by just simply being there and understanding what that means. It means you're eternalizing the value of your presence. You're listening to their stories, and you're understanding for them, what are the things that are motivating them? What are the things that they value? Because each generation, each environment, each condition is going to require something a little bit different from you, and if you don't take the time to understand your environment or generation or cultural nuances or things like that on where you're at, then you are missing that opportunity to develop trust, where they start to believe in you as a person, and not just the rank and position that you hold, because they'll do the right thing for the rank and position that you hold. That's the caliber of people that we have in this Air Force of ours. They'll do the right thing. But if you transcend that in the fact that they believe in you wholeheartedly and trust you, oftentimes with their own lives, it means that you've invested something into them, where they truly know that you care. And that goes back to that A1C on the cork board that said, ‘I need somebody who cares about me as a person.'   Naviere Walkewicz  56:41 You know, as I think about what you've experienced through your career and the lessons you've learned, both professionally and personally, what would you say to yourself back then that you should be doing back then to get to where you're at now? Because we have listeners that are like, ‘What can I start planting today, that will bloom down the road?'   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  57:03 Absolutely. And so I think if I was to go back and put my arm around Cadet First Class Sherman, I think what I would do is — because it is, it is oftentimes easy to look in the crystal clear mirror of hindsight, right? But I think instead, what I would do is I would put my arm around him and say, ‘Keep following your heart and let the failures happen, because the failures are going to grow and let the stumbles happen and enjoy the triumphs with people and be appreciative for what got you there.' And I think it would be more of the encouragement of like, ‘You have laid out a path for you take the path wherever it goes, the joy, the pain, the triumph, the failure, all of those things, because all of that helps to develop the leader.' And oftentimes you want to go back and say, gosh, if I was going to talk to my previous self, then I would say, ‘Ah, don't do that one thing,' right? But I'm looking at it saying that if I didn't do that one thing, then I'm not sure that I would be where I'm at at a time to make sure I didn't do that thing at a moment that was incredibly catastrophic. And so while we have this desire to want to prevent ourselves from the failure, I think that what we have to do is say you're going to fail and you need to fail, and it's going to sound — relish in the failure, because it is often emotionally troubling, especially those of us that come here because we are Type A perfectionist, and that's part of the draw of coming to this amazing place. Is there a certain personality traits that help us to be successful here, but not all of those personality traits make us uniquely successful in all situations outside, and so you've got to have that failure at some point in time. And the failure that you can get up and say, ‘OK, I did this. This happened. My soul is bruised. My ego is bruised. I may have to take a little bit of accountability for this. OK, now I need to have the courage to take the next step forward again.' Because I could easily retreat back to a safe place, and I could become risk averse, and all that does is hurt the people around you. OK. I have to have the courage to breathe and take the step again and get back in there. So I would tell my — I don't think I would want to prevent myself from doing anything. I think even the growth that took place while Laurie and I were apart — and, like I said, that torch that I carried for her — I think if I had whispered in my ear and said, ‘Hey, just relax, you're gonna marry her.' I think I needed that torch, because that in my own mind and my own emotion was me needing to become a better man, and so I think I needed to go through — like, sometimes you need the struggle, and sometimes the things that are most valuable are the things that you had to go through the struggle for, right? And I think that's where my blue collar ethics background comes in. It's like, I'm just going to roll up my sleeves and I'm going to work through the struggle.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:00:36 Wow. Well, we took a look back. I just want to ask you a question forward. So do you think about legacy? And what do you want your legacy to be? Is that something that plays in your mind as you wake up each morning or go to lead people?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  1:00:50 I think the way that I look at it is, I look at it in a in a different aspect, and the way that I look at it is in a very confined point to point. It's not about what is going to be Tom Sherman's legacy when he retires someday, but was that interaction that I had with somebody to give them some encouraging words when they fell down, did that matter to them at that moment? Because there are people for me in my failures that were commanders, that were leaders, that were mentors, that were senior enlisted, that, you know, grabbed that lieutenant by the arm and helped to lift me up. And their memories are etched in my fabric. And so I think that it's about that individual event that your legacy will live in the people in which you made a difference to them.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:01:49 Well, I'll share with you, I was telling my son — he's a cadet, a third-class cadet, actually, now he's about to be a C2C — that I was doing this podcast with you, and he said, ‘What an incredible leader, Mom, he motivates me. He's so inspiring.' So your legacy is already through my son—   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  1:02:05 Thank you! That means — thank you so much for sharing.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:02:10 —that you really made an impact. So we're going to get to your final thoughts here in a little bit. But before we do, I want to make sure that you know our podcasts publish on every second Tuesday of the month, and you can certainly listen to Gen. Sherman in any of our other podcasts on longblueleadership.org. So Gen. Sherman, what would you like to leave our listeners with today? This has been incredible, by the way. Thank you.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  1:02:32 I have truly enjoyed this, and it's just been — it was just wonderful having the conversation with you, and it's in real honor to be a part of this. I truly believe in what you're doing here.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:02:43 Thank you. It's my pleasure to help share your story and help inspire others. And is there anything we might leave with our listeners that that they can part with tonight?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  1:02:51 I think, for me, you need to love what you do and love I think, is one of the most powerful words in language. And I don't just say the English language. I say in language because of the strength behind the meaning and how wide the meaning can be impactful. If you love what you do, people will feel that your very presence will make a difference. They'll feel that if you love what you do, then you're being, you know, internally, inspired by the love that you have for what you're being a part of, right? If you love and care about your people, they will follow you to the ends of the Earth, because they know the passion that you have and the belief that you have in them. So I think that as we go back to these things, we oftentimes look at the terms of courage and love may seem diametrically opposed, and I would attest that you can be most courageous and that your courage will be most effective only when it's buttressed by the love that you have in what you do and who you do it with.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:04:08 Thank you, sir, for that. Thank you for being on Long Blue Leadership.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  1:04:11 Absolutely. Thank you. This was a wonderful time. It was a real honor.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:04:14 Thank you. Well, until next time, I'm Naviere Walkewicz. We'll see you on Long Blue Leadership.     KEYWORDS Leadership, Air Force Academy, Major General Thomas P. Sherman, mentorship, personal growth, security forces, work-life balance, family support, continuous improvement, legacy       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation        

Send us a Text Message.Beyond the headlines of scandalous stories about military members getting in trouble, there are real people whose lives are forever changed. What we see in the news is often far from the truth or slanted to fit a one-sided narrative. That's why sharing our stories is so important, especially when seeking justice. Join me as I talk to get another attorney who works with service members seeking accountability. Hear the “stories behind the story” on some of his most compelling cases and his suggestions for reforming the military justice system. Benjamin Beliles is a former Air Force JAG officer and trial lawyer with over 15 years of experience in complex criminal prosecution, civil litigation, defense, appellate work, and internal investigations. He focuses his practice on white-collar crime and complex civil litigation matters and advocates for victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military.  Before entering private practice, Ben served as senior trial counsel for the Special Victims Unit of the U.S. Air Force at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. As the senior prosecutor for the Air Force's legal offices in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, and the U.K., he first-chaired 46 jury trials to verdict. While serving in that role, Ben was named the Special Victims Unit Prosecutor of the Year twice. Before leaving active duty, Ben served as a federal litigation attorney, defending the agency in employment actions in administrative and federal litigation. In that role, he was designated the Air Force Subject Matter Expert in sexual harassment-based removals of civilian employees. Notably, Ben successfully prosecuted Lt. Col. James Wilkerson for sexual assault at Aviano Air Base, Italy. The convening authority, Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin, threw the verdict out. That action made the case a lightning rod for change to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Ben was integrally involved in its systemic revision to provide more robust protections for victims of sexual assault. During the fallout from the case, he served as a frequent media contributor. He suffered extensive reprisal for those who opposed the changes to the military's handling of sexual assault.  Ben is licensed to practice law in Virginia and is permitted to practice in all military and federal courts, including the Eastern and WVisit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTERRead my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.comWatch episodes of my podcast:https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

-Dr. Gabe Farias & Jordan Hicks represent the O2X Integrated Specialist Program with Phoenix Police Department.-Jordan Hicks specializes in injury prevention and management as a certified Athletic Trainer - with six years of expertise in evaluating and rehabilitating musculoskeletal injuries. -Prior to joining the O2X team, Jordan was a Sports Medicine Injury Prevention Athletic Trainer at Camp Pendleton. With a demonstrated commitment to the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of patients, she successfully developed regiment level athletic training programs, implemented concussion protocols, and contributed significantly to the overall fitness and mobility of individuals.-She also logged time as a Tactical Athletic Trainer as part of the Optimizing Human Weapons System Athletic Trainer team at Aviano Air Base in Italy and Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington State. -She holds a Master of Sciences in Sports Medicine: Strength and Conditioning from the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs and a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from San Diego State University.  -The second guest, Dr. Gabe Farias, is an O2X Mental Performance Specialist.-Prior to joining O2X, Gabe worked with U.S. Army, engaging with thousands of soldiers, enhancing mental resilience and imparting invaluable mental skills for personal and professional applications. Driven by the belief that mental skills are indispensable for high performance, Gabe applies his expertise in Sport and Performance Psychology to empower tactical athletes and teams. His focus is on cultivating critical mental skills that provide a decisive advantage over the competitors.-Gabe earned his Master's in Performance Psychology from National University in La Jolla, CA back in 2020 and continued his education by earning his PhD in Sport and Performance Psychology from the University of Western States in Portland, OR in September of 2023. He is currently working on his second doctorate in Organizational Leadership.-Together, Jordan & Gabe lead our integrated specialist with Phoenix Police Department where the provide human performance resources to all Phoenix Police officers.O2X | Integrated: Phoenix Police Departmenthttps://youtu.be/ktMfkm-tzIUFirstNet Built with AT&T:http://www.firstnet.com/healthandwellnessBuilding Homes for Heroes:https://www.buildinghomesforheroes.org/Download the O2X Tactical Performance App:app.o2x.comLet us know what you think:Website - http://o2x.comIG - https://instagram.com/o2xhumanperformance?igshid=1kicimx55xt4f 

This edition features stories on improving Strategic Command's nuclear capabilities, Airmen who maintain Pods and a former POW visiting Airmen on Aviano Air Base. Hosted by Master Sgt. Angie Sarchet.

This edition features stories on a F-16 Crew Chief, storm damage to Aviano Air Base and two Japanese TV show host visiting Misawa Air Base. Hosted by Master Sgt. Angie Sarchet

This edition features stories on story on the best anti-terrorism program at Aviano Air Base, a program that rates overall fitness and Airmen taking care of buildings. Hosted by Staff Sgt. Jason Armstrong

This edition includes stories about an F-22 crash, the C-130 re-supply mission in the Horn of Africa, medical & dental personnel assisting people in Thailand who don't have readily accessible health care, Aviano Air Base's Ecological Day clean-up effort, a joint multi-national concert at Yokota Air Base featuring Airmen, students, & musicians from Yokota & the local community, an Airmen who helped the USAFE Cross Country team win the 2009 Armed Forces Cross Country Championship. Hosted by Senior Airman Robbie Arp.

This edition features stories on a new piece of equipment enhancing bomber capabilities, Airmen supporting weapons deployment training mission, Airmen training with the Bulgarian air force, firefighters on Aviano Air Base using new equipment to help save lives, Airmen ensuring records are accurate and Airmen testing to become non commissioned officers. Hosted by Senior Airman Robbie Arp

This edition features stories on the activation of the 772nd Expeditionary Squadron, Croatian officers visiting Aviano Air Base, Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO 21), new gas masks for Airmen and a joint refueling exercise with the Thai air force. Hosted by Senior Airman Robbie Arp.

This edition features stories about the first of three C-17s aircraft delivered to Hungary to help the multi-national force there with their heavy airlift mission, how U.S. Forces Afghanistan is using social networking websites to get their message out to the world, children's television show host, Trevor Romain, visiting the youth at Aviano Air Base, convoys that deliver all the necessary goods and equipment to keep the Air Force properly supplied, and a woman who overcame adversity and displayed courage by entering the 100 meter freestyle event in the 2009 National Veterans Wheelchair Games. Hosted by Master Sgt. Shawn Sprayberry.

This edition features stories on the release of the fiscal year 2010 force structure realignment, the first Air Force officer to lead the U.S. Southern Command, firefighters in Southwest Asia undergoing a 100% personnel change, Aviano Air Base's medical group training for disease outbreak response and containment, a ten-nation training exercise that provided for a plethora of experience and variety of training, and a training exercise intended to simulate impaired driving to increase alcohol awareness. Hosted by Master Sgt. Shawn Sprayberry.

This edition features stories about the Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team kicking off their 2009 tour at an Alabama high school, air crews from Bagram Air Field providing medical evacuations for service members in need, Airmen at Aviano Air Base getting tips on how to eat the right foods to maintain physical fitness, a special Airman who has been in the Air Force system since Vietnam, explosive ordinance disposal Airmen training to enhance their skills prior to an upcoming deployment. Hosted by Tech Sgt. Lee Hoover.

This edition features stories about the official activation of a new first-of-its-kind, multinational strategic airlift unit, Iraqi Airmen leading their own training and being advised by American pilots as they improve their efficiency in the skies, the T-43 Gator aircraft that is used by the U.S. Air Force for undergraduate navigator training, a new website at Lajes Field, Azores, that gives victims a place to report sexual assault, the heating, ventilation, & air conditioning (HVAC) team at Aviano Air Base remaining diligent throughout the summer months to keep people cool, as they receive 25 to 30 calls per day. Hosted by Master Sgt. Shawn Sprayberry.

This edition features stories on a mass mobilization of Guardsmen in the New England states to combat flood waters, U.S. Transportation Command receiving the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, service members in Afghanistan training Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers in Joint Tactical Air Control (JTAC) procedures to enhance the close air support abilities, the Logistics Military Advisory Team (LMAT) officially turning Camp Ur over to Iraqi control, an Air Force initiative to reduce energy consumption at Aviano Air Base by demolishing some old, unused facilities there, and Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus performing shows in Fairfax, Va., to recognize service members and their families. Hosted by Tech Sgt. Chris Decker.

This edition features stories on air bases around Germany resuming their flight operations after being grounded due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland spewing ash into the atmosphere, the unveiling of the new HC-130J aircraft at Moody Air Base, the 603rd Tactical Air Squadron [603 TAS] out of Aviano Air Base cleaning up a local park, Misawa residents cleaning up portions of Shipwreck Beach as a part of an Earth Day effort, and American Airmen and Germans cleaning a local creek together near Spangdahlem. Hosted by Senior Airman Brad Sisson.

This edition features stories on the Senate confirming Erin Conaton as Undersecretary of the Air Force, Major Gen. Judy Fedder, a female Airman who has helped progress women's role in the Air Force in over three decades of service, U.S. and Italian firefighters at Aviano Air Base training on how to safely extract pilots and properly deal with the toxic chemical hydrazine that powers aircraft backup units when things go wrong in the air, explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) Airmen at Incirlik Air Base simulating real-world operations based on situations from Iraq and Afghanistan during a ruck march, military inspection teams inspecting local markets to ensure Airmen are informed about what is legal for purchase, and the window opening for first-term Airmen job retraining. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Alina Richard.

This edition features stories on Airmen from Dover Air Force Base flying a C-5M Galaxy into Iraq for the first time ever for this type of aircraft, two bases becoming one in Hawaii during an Initial Operational Capability ceremony as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) law, what Airmen at Dyess Air Force Base are doing to support Operation Unified Response in Haiti, an elite security team known as the Ravens, who accompany U.S. military supply aircraft into potentially dangerous situations and work to diffuse conflict, and volunteers at Aviano Air Base donating profits from a bake sale to assist earthquake victims in Haiti. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Alina Richard. Haiti Relief, JTF Haiti

This edition features stories on the Department of Defense announcing the establishment of the National Security Personnel Systems Transition Office, Homestead Air Reserve Base becoming a staging area for air crews to bring earthquake victims from Haiti to the U.S. since the recent massive earthquake there, the Air Force flying intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions in support of Operation Unified Response in Haiti, the duties of Aviano Air Base explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) technicians while at home station, American and Japanese runners competing in the annual half-marathon Frostbite Run at Yokota Air Base, 65th Air Base Wing partnering with a Portuguese Air Base to repair a sixty-year old road, and an Air Force Captain who made an unusual transition into the pilot's seat through a new pilot exchange program between the U.S. and France. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Alina Richard.

This edition features stories on Airmen hoping to make the U.S. Olympic bobsledding team, Airmen at Yokota Air Base celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and his legacy, Aviano Air Base's Key Spouse program, the 633rd Air Base Wing taking over as the Installation Host Wing for Langley Air Force Base, and Airmen preparing Kwangju Air Base for the population increase during exercise Max Thunder. Hosted by Senior Airman Brad Sisson.

This edition features stories on U.S. and Belgium troops with veterans and well-wishers participating in the 32nd annual Bastogne Walk, the Patriot 7 course, which is designed to better prepare Airmen for scenarios where they will work with the militaries of other nations to conduct non-traditional warfare, the “Iron Chef” competition at Misawa Air Base, Santa Claus paying a visit to children at Kadena Air Base, and Aviano Air Base aircraft crew chiefs conducting inspections on aircraft to keep them performing optimally. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Alina Richard.

This edition features stories on military medics converging on Danilovgrad Army Base, Montenegro, for exercise MEDCEUR 2010, an airlift crew from the 535th Airlift Squadron (535th ALS) based at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, demonstrating rapid global mobility, the Italian Air Force welcoming a new commander to Aviano Air Base, the 52nd Fighter Wing hosting its Mid-Air Collision Avoidance (MACA) seminar at Spangdahlem Air Base. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Alina Richard.

This edition features stories on Cyber Operations Initial Training, ESOHCAMP, 2010 Field Gun Competition and Sinbad's visit to Aviano Air Base. Hosted by Senior Airman Brad Sisson.

This edition features stories on Air Force senior leaders meeting at Maxwell Air Force Base for the 2010 Senior Enlisted Leaders Summit, Weapons Load Crews at Spangdahlem Air Base holding a load crew competition, the Air Force's Reserve Generation Band performing for Soldiers south of Baghdad, Airmen and Soldiers at Suwon Air Base competing in a 10-mile run, kids at Aviano Air Base going through a mock deployment line, the American Nurses Association designating the first week of May as Nurse Appreciation Week. Hosted by Senior Airman Brad Sisson.

This edition features stories on P.O.W./ M.I.A. Week on Aviano Air Base, Africa Aerospace and Defense Expo, a culinary competition and the 13th Fighter Squadron's target practice. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Alina Richard.

This edition features stories on Maxwell Air Force Base Security Forces Airmen participating in high-risk traffic stop training, Aviano Air Base's In-House Air Force Reserve recruiter, Master Sgt. Clark Gilleo, Security Forces Airmen working with their civilian counter parts during joint training at Hurlburt Field, Fla., service members from Lajes Field experiencing different local cuisines, and the International Families Orientation Program at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. Hosted by Senior Airman Brad Sisson.

This edition features stories on the Air Force top leaders releasing a joint letter encouraging Airmen to remain energy efficient at the workplace and at home, service members traveling to Micronesia to help locals renovate a school as part of Operation Pacific Unity, Airmen conducting a 24-hour vigil run at Aviano Air Base to honor the fallen during POW/MIA Week, the ninth annual Sumter-Shaw Street Fest where the Sumter, S.C., community comes out to thank the Airmen of Shaw Air Force Base for their service and the Airmen get show their support for the community while enjoying fun and festivities, families and their pets gathering to support World Rabies Day at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and Airmen from units at Ramstein Air Base going through Air Force Operational Readiness Inspections. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Alina Richard.

This edition features stories on the peninsula-wide exercise Invincible Spirit in Korea, service chiefs from each branch of the service coming together supporting military children during the Military Child Education Coalition's 12th annual conference at the National Harbor in Maryland, and the Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force (CMSAF) James Roy, talking about programs that support Air Force families during deployments at Aviano Air Base. Hosted by Senior Airman Brad Sisson.

This edition features stories on Gen. Walter L. Sharp introducing a new policy prioritizing what positions qualify for command sponsorship for family members of service members stationed in South Korea, a recent Occupational Readiness Exercise (ORE) at Yokota Air Base, a group of volunteers at Aviano Air Base spreading holiday cheer by baking sweet treats for service members during the holidays, Americans bonding with the local Japanese community at Misawa Air Base by competing in a culinary competition, a Christmas tree lighting ceremony and other holiday-related festivities at Yokota Air Base, Shaw Air Force Base's School Liaison Officer, and how he helps military families understand educational requirements during transition. Hosted by Senior Airman Brad Sisson.

This edition features a story on a weapons loader Airman at Komatsu Air Base who recently participated in operation Keen Sword and conducts last-minute checks on F-16 jets just before they take off, changes to the Command Sponsorship program in South Korea, the Misawa Air Base post office picking up the pace during the holiday season, the Air Force band playing for local veterans at the VA center in Dublin, Georgia, the USAFE band's “Winds Aloft” woodwind quartet adding to the holiday atmosphere at Incirlik Air Base during their recent tour there, and students at Aviano Air Base preparing for their holiday play. Hosted by Senior Airman Brad Sisson.

Soldiers form Aviano Air Base, Italy, gear up for a jump and one of their own helps them build the strength within themselves to fulfill the task.

A bagger at the Aviano Commissary couldn't be happier.

Thoughts with Lt Gen Ret Dan “Fig” Leaf. The host for this show is Jay Fidell. The guest is Dan 'Fig' Leaf. Thoughts and perspective of current situations in Ukraine with Lt Gen “Fig” Leaf, Retired, U.S. Air Force. Fig commanded the NATO wing at Aviano Air Base during the air war over Serbia, and addresses the roots of the Russian invasion, current situation in Ukraine and the need for humanitarian assistance. He offers insight on how China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific will be influenced by conflict in Europe. The ThinkTech YouTube Playlist for this show is https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQpkwcNJny6komvysbIElhwa0iN1zzvn_ Please visit our ThinkTech website at https://thinktechhawaii.com and see our Think Tech Advisories at https://thinktechadvisories.blogspot.com.

You're in for a treat with today's episode with my friend Joe. Joe is a SERE Specialist in the U.S. Air Force. When a mission doesn't go as planned, and military members find themselves in a remote, hostile environment, separated from friendly control, or even hunted by the enemy, they must be prepared to Survive, Evade, Resist and Escape. It's the SERE Specialists' mission to do just that, so others may “RETURN WITH HONOR!” Joe and I discussed what you should do when your car runs out of gas at night during a blizzard, how to safely navigate within urban environments, what Joe did when he came upon a serious car accident in a tunnel, and much, much more. After listening to this episode you'll understand your basic needs, be more prepared to assess your preparedness for every day situations, and know how to start to build a basic foundation of skills and gear. This episode is for each and every one of you. We all can and must do a better job of being prepared and knowledgeable and Joe will give you the tools to get started. In this episode, you'll discover: -James and Emily have a dream to have land while having access to city amenities...02:10 -Prepare for what you can to mitigate possible risks...07:30 -Jazz Improvisation and Survival have much in common: preparation empowers improvisation...11:30 -https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a3/publication/afh10-644/afh10-644.pdf (Air Force form 10-64-4)...13:30 -Maintain life, Maintain honor, Return...13:45 -Criteria for Success: Personal Protection, Sustenance, Health: Physical and Psychological, Travel, Communication, Recovery, Evasion, and Escape...18:40 -Working from theoretical survival to real life training exercises...22:30 -Familiarity breeds complacency...25:15 -Real life scenario: driving through a blizzard and running out of gas...27:45 Don't leave a known point without a good reason to travel...28:45 Emergency kit in your car is good preparation: down jackets, extra battery backup, blankets for warmth, freeze dried food, a cup to cook "water" (might be snow) to clean the water, a water purifying mechanism. Joe likes to maintain a small survival kit with multiuse tools...32:15 Laser pointers are great signaling devices...35:15 Determine if you are going to build a shelter or travel away from the car...41:45 Knowing when to stay or leave a vehicle(an airplane shell can become an icebox!)...43:20 -Joe's recommendations for reading about scenarios to learn more preparation skills...47:00 -Another real life scenario: attending a baseball game in a big city...50:50 Build up confidence by building skills; like self defense classes...53:45 Maintain Situational Awareness; don't bury your head in your phone...55:20 Things you can carry on your person: personal firearm, pocket knife, backpack with passport, coins, cash, pens, notebook, snacks, Covid mask, ID's, airpods, and an extra charger for iPad...1:01:30 -Real life story from Slovenia where Joe is a first responder to a car accident and saved three lives...1:04:00 He had a medical kit in his backpack...1:05:40 He and his friend's had the knowledge, the equipment and the willingness to help...1:09:15 https://community.fema.gov/PreparednessCommunity/s/cert-trainings (Free community emergency response classes) offered around the country to build your knowledge base to give you the confidence to act when disaster strikes...1:13:10 -Covid caused a wave of panic across the world; training and preparing for disaster can ease the stress of the unknown...1:18:20 -Mental preparation; how to train your mind to stay calm and sharp...1:20:10 -Joe's forthcoming book...1:27:40 About the guest: Joe Apolinar is a SERE Specialist in the U.S. Air Force attached to the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy where he and his wife Laura are raising two children; Willow, who is six, and Wolf, who is three. When a mission doesn't go as planned, and you find yourself in a remote,...

Photo: A sign is displayed on the first day of school for Kindergartners at Aviano Air Base, Italy, Aug. 31, 2020. CBS Eyes on the World with John Batchelor CBS Audio Network @Batchelorshow Uncertainty of Kabul, the virus, back to school, back to the office. @LizPeek @FoxNews HFN https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/biden-failing-crises-mount-americans-gloomy-liz-peek

My first year living abroad as the new kid for the first time in my life. Military Child Month,Military Brat, Aviano, Aviano Saints, United States Airforce, Aviano Air Base.

Today's story: Adapting to change

Ryan talks about speaking to service members at Aviano Air Base in Italy. Ryan reads a passage from Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit. You can also find these videos on the Daily Stoic YouTube channel.

Today's stories: Airmen from the 31st Maintenance Group at Aviano Air Base, Italy came up with an innovative solution to fix an issue that would have cost the air force over $100,000. Also, airmen interested in pitching their innovative ideas can sign up for the Air Force's annual Spark Tank competition.

Today's story: F-35A Lightning II fighter jets deploy from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to Aviano Air Base, Italy.

Luis Reyes Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Luis Reyes is the Senior Enlisted Advisor for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange) headquartered in Dallas, Texas. In this capacity, he serves as the focal point for communications between Exchange leadership and Army and Air Force active duty, Guard, Reserve, family members and retired patrons. He travels to Army and Air Force installations worldwide to present updates on Exchange activities and provides feedback on issues affecting customers. The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund entity of the Department of Defense. Established in 1895, the Exchange today is the 61st largest retail organization in the U.S. With annual revenue of $8.6 billion, the Exchange employs approximately 35,000 associates, including military personnel. In 2017, the Exchange produced $376 million in earnings, all reinvested into the military community. Luis Reyes- Experience in the Air Force Luis has been serving for 21 years.  He is in communication career field and started off in Oklahoma City as a Tactical Telephone Switch, then to Camp Humphreys in same type of job, next to Aviano Air Base where he worked in a comm center.  Luis also did a couple of Embassy tours in Turkey working in comms and then headed to Spain. Everything in his whole career has dealt with communication. “It has adapted, with cyber and the whole landscape of the internet has drastically changed.” – Luis Reyes We Go Where You Go At AAFES, Luis is the focal point between the civilian leadership and the customer base. From active duty to veterans, he is there to provide feedback that he gets from the field.  Luis works at command fields to make sure they have what they need to serve the greatest military in the world. From online services, to hiring employees with military connections AAFES is there to take care of its customers wherever they are. “When you’re overseas, you want that taste of home and AAFES brings that.” – Luis Reyes Employees Volunteer to Deploy and Serve Luis is most proud of the 4,500 members from the Exchange that have deployed to go down range.  These are volunteers and they want to be there to serve and take care of the customers. 85% of AAFES  employees have a military connection. “Every time I hear that I get goosebumps, I get excited to know that they want to be there to serve and take care of our service members.” – Luis Reyes To hear more from Luis Reyes and how AAFES serves our military community, download this episode. Don’t forget to leave us a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show. We would love to hear from you! Luis Reyes links: LinkedIn Exchange Website Download Joe Crane’s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470.   Sponsor Bench Bookkeeping is this episodes sponsor.  Being an entrepreneur, bookkeeping is a necessary evil.  To put your bookkeeping needs on autopilot check out Bench Bookkeeping and gety one month free at veteranonthemove.com/bench. Join the Veteran on the Move on Facebook! Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests! It’s a great place where you can stay in touch with other veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship.  Get updates and free gouge on the people, programs and resources to help you in your transition to entrepreneurship. Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 250 episodes. Our listeners have the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane . The podcast features people, programs and resources to assist veterans in their transition to entrepreneurship.  As a result, Veteran On the Move has over 1,000,000 verified downloads through Stitcher Radio, Sound Cloud, itunes and RSS Feed Syndication making it one of the most popular Military Entrepreneur Shows on the Internet Today.  

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Christopher W. Baker, commander of 173rd Airborne Brigade Support Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade, talks about the heavy drop and airborne operations at Aviano Air Base, Italy, Sept. 21, 2017. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, capable of projecting ready forces anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Commands' areas of responsibility.

Aviano Air Base celebrates Ramadan.

On today's Air Force Report Staff Sergeant Traci Keller tells us how security forces members at Aviano Air Base, Italy, are honoring the service of two of their military working dogs.

A father and son duo participated in a triathlon at Aviano Air Base.

The principal of Aviano's elementary school explains the importance of STEM.

An Aviano airman shares her body building experience.

A youth robotics challenge was held at Aviano Air Base.

On today's Air Force Report Staff Sergeant Traci Keller tells us about how airmen at Aviano Air Base ready themselves to deploy.

Major Dustin Brown explains the 510th Fighter Squadron's mission during the Amari flying training deployment in Estonia.

Feature story tells the story of the 24/7 mission of the KC-135 fleet supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Told entirely in time lapse, this piece offers a unique view of the never-ending job of KC-135 aircrews and maintainers. Includes maintenance, refueling operations, flying operations. Produced by Staff Sgt. Matthew Pardini. Includes sound bites from; Lt. Col. Scott Paffenroth, deployed from 91st Air Refueling Squadron, Macdill Air Force Base, Fla.Capt. Kevin Diifalco, deployed from 510th Fighter Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy, Tech. Sgt. Stephen Jenkins, deployed from 151st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Salt Lake City, Utah, Capt. Breanna Mcnair, deployed from the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, Macdill AFB, Fla. This video also available in high definition.