Document created: 1 March 05
Air & Space Power Journal - Spring 2005

Senior Leader Perspective

What I Believe

Gen Hal M. Hornburg, USAF, Retired

This article contains what I think is important about leading Airmen. It conveys what I think you, as Air Force commanders, need to know. It is what I believe. This message has many instructions and suggestions; take as many as you can, and give as much as you take. When we select our people for command, we do not send them to the hospital for an injection of additional brain cells. There is no infusion of instant knowledge. We used to do that—or at least we thought we did. We would make someone a commander and assume all resident knowledge was installed. When commanders made mistakes, we asked, “How could this happen?” How do we explain what happened? We did not train our commanders, but we’re changing that.

Winston Churchill once said, “If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use the pile driver.” This article makes several points. Some I touch on only lightly; others I discuss at length. You will find that I place my emphasis—my number-one priority—on the importance of our people. Airmen are the gas that makes the Air Force go—not our technology, airplanes, or equipment. Without them, we might as well cut up all the expensive assets on the ramp and make them into razor blades. Certainly, in the last several years, you have read Air Force literature that articulates our desire to attain specific effects. But without our people, there are no effects. So what kind of leader do we need?

Kinds of Leaders

The conference center at Headquarters Air Combat Command (ACC) is named after Gen Bill Creech. When I was a major and lieutenant colonel, I used to go down to the conference room and climb into the audiovisual booth. It was about 700 degrees in there, but well worth enduring the heat because I witnessed General Creech teach leadership firsthand. He said, “The first duty of a leader is to grow more leaders.” That is what this is all about.

In my mind, there are three kinds of leaders: people who make things better, those who make things worse, and caretakers who do neither. It is up to you to find your leadership style. Leadership involves movement and decisiveness. In reality, the caretaker who merely maintains the status quo is falling behind because our mission and environment are in constant flux. Keep your units focused on improvement, or they will inevitably start to sag. When you leave, people will say either “Boy, am I going to miss the commander” or “Thank God he or she is gone.” It is up to you. I would like to help you become the type of Airman who takes organizations to the next level.

Building Airmen

Americans hold the members of the military in high regard. According to a Gallup poll of June 2004, our military is the most trusted organization in America. This is good news, but such trust comes with no guarantees. We must earn it every day. The important point is that the American people believe in what we do. As we perform our business, craft, and art, we have a responsibility to strive for our best. We need to be good stewards of our assets and resources.

When I became commander of ACC in November 2001, our mission statement called on us to “organize, train, equip, and maintain combat-ready forces for rapid deployment and employment while ensuring that strategic air defense forces are ready to meet the challenges of peacetime air sovereignty and wartime air defense.” For me and the rest of the ACC leadership, this statement was too cumbersome and laborious. I felt the need to clarify what I asked my commanders to concentrate on. It seemed that if we just took care of our people, if we were ready to get out of town, and—once at our destination—if we were ready to fight, then our commanders had what they needed to accomplish the mission. So I simplified the mission statement to “develop and nurture Airmen, be prepared to deploy, and be ready to fight.” This is all I ask. Although very simple, these three requirements embody a full-time, 24-hour-a-day job.

Our ultimate sight picture calls for producing overwhelming but scalable combat power. That defines ACC’s relevance. Making that happen are our Airmen—be they aviators, maintainers, information operators, or the myriad of support Airmen who enable and contribute to our mission. This should be our touchstone. In every decision we make, we should ask ourselves how our actions contribute to producing combat airpower and space power and building the Airmen who make it happen.

Overwhelming combat power is the core requirement, but power is just thrust. Without a vector, power is meaningless. Therefore, command and control is our enabler that directs combat power to the right place at the right time. The rest of us, including the headquarters and me, are in support. Our job is to enable the field to provide combat power and command and control. If you are in the field, we work for you.

In ACC we say, “People first—mission always.” No matter what your specialty skill or your position in the Air Force, we are all Airmen. Because we are Airmen, we are best trained and equipped to do things relating to the air. That statement sounds intuitive, but it sets us apart. When airpower is in the hands of capable and competent people, good things happen. In the hands of amateurs, disastrous things can happen. If you fly and fix airplanes, cook meals, lay concrete, or nurse our sick, you support our number-one mission—flying sorties. You are all relevant to this mission, and you are all relevant to our Air Force family.

When I came back from my first mission in Operation Desert Storm, we were descending into Al Kharj Air Base, Saudi Arabia, and I was thinking, “How did we get to this point?” As all the airplanes checked in, I asked myself, “How is this possible?” It was possible because we were in a great airplane. I was trained. The weapons systems officer was trained. The load crew did its job. The crew chief did his job. The Airmen in fuels did their jobs. We slept well the night before because the engineers did their jobs. The power worked, the heat was on, and the tent was warm (important, considering it was January). Before we flew, we had a great meal because the Airmen in services did their jobs. We felt confident in our mission because in the back of our minds, we knew our families were fine because the Airmen back home were doing their jobs. We had wills and powers of attorney because the people in the legal office did their jobs. Before we went up the ladder, the chaplain was there to bless everyone. Airmen did their jobs. That is why the mission worked.

Challenges

As leaders, you mold our Airmen’s talent to provide distinct capabilities to our Air Force and Nation. Many challenges face us every day: retention, diversity, and perceptions, to name just a few.

Retention

Right now, we do not have a retention problem, but I think we always need to be concerned about it. Retention is up, but is it because you and I are out there fighting tooth and nail to keep our experienced people in, or is it just because of external issues and circumstances that drive our Airmen to stay with us? Retention is about quality of life, which has nothing to do with how nice your conference room is or how cosmic your cell phone is. It is not even about pay raises, which may put a few more beans in your pot but do not fundamentally alter quality of life. When you wake up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror, and say, “I’m proud to serve in the United States Air Force”—that is quality of life. When this ceases to happen—when our Airmen’s DNA and fiber change and they decide to go off base, taking a pay cut to change oil for a living rather than work on our flight line—then we have a major problem.

How can you know what your Airmen are thinking? The best way is to get out among them, but another way is through surveys (table 1). The number-one reason that enlisted people leave our service is the availability of civilian jobs—a factor we do not control. However, since leadership does influence eight of the 10 reasons, it is the best tool to improve retention. Since 2000, satisfaction with current career field, compatibility with spouse’s job, and home-station tempo have entered the top 10. Conversely, pay and allowances, promotion opportunity, and number of additional duties have dropped out. Regardless of the factors, retaining our people is critical to our future.

Table 1. Top 10 reasons why enlisted  people leave the Air Force Source: “USAF Careers and New Direction Survey” (Randolph AFB, TX: Air Force Personnel Center, 2003), http://www.afpc. randolph.af.mil/surveys/pages/sreports.htm (report is pending).

In 2000 the Air Force started a war on recruiting. We should have started a war on retention. Our service attempted to mitigate an experience shortfall with increased recruiting. When I went to command Air Education and Training Command (AETC) in 2000, we had a recruiting goal of 34,000 or so. Then it surged to 37,000. Where are these 37,000 going after they leave us? We now have a short respite in recruiting while we downsize to our mandated end strength, but the retention challenge will never lose its importance. Why do we have so many three-levels in our organi-zations? It is because we have not fought hard enough to retain the five- and seven-levels. It takes 15 years to replace Technical Sergeant Smith if she gets out at the 15-year point. Replacing an experienced senior noncommissioned officer (NCO) with a relatively new Airman is simply not the same. Once, while I was addressing a wing, a technical sergeant asked me, “Why do I have so many three-levels when I really need five- and seven-levels?” My answer to him was, “What have you done to retain your five- and seven-levels?” Another sergeant told me it was wrong to promote 65 percent of our senior Airmen to staff sergeant because they are not ready for that responsibility. Again, I said, “Sergeant, what are you doing to retain more staff sergeants?” He replied, “Huh? That is not my job.” The heck it’s not! We cannot go out and recruit a qualified person to enter at the 15-year point. We must develop and properly train Airmen. When they leave the Air Force, Microsoft can hire them. When software experts leave Microsoft, I don’t want them until they have undergone training, become Airmen, and gained experience in our business. It is every Airman’s job to retain our qualified people.

Take retention on as a challenge. Enlisted retention is up (fig. 1). You make a difference. Get out of the office and talk to your Airmen. There is no substitute for a hands-on, one-on-one approach. Ensure all levels of leadership mentor their people to aspire to the next level. Airmen should want to become NCOs, flight commanders should want to become squadron commanders, and so on. If staff and technical sergeants are not talking to Airmen about being NCOs and teaching lessons from the school of hard knocks, they are not doing their job. We all have to work retention, and we retain one Airman at a time.

Although officers leave for slightly different reasons, as commanders, you still influence eight of the top 10 (table 2). You cannot be inactive and expect everything to be fine. You must be engaged. The retention trend for officers is also up (fig. 2). Note the likelihood of officers from four specific career fields to remain on active duty for 11 years of service.

Table 2. Top 10 reasons why officers leave the Air Force Source: “USAF Careers and New Direction Survey” (Randolph AFB, TX: Air Force Personnel Center, 2003), http://www.afpc. randolph.af.mil/surveys/pages/sreports.htm (report is pending).

What does all this mean? We need to retain our experience—not just our numbers. I am a firm believer that good leaders who mentor and care for their Airmen have a dramatic effect on retention. Retention comes down to Airmen going home at night feeling good about who they are and the positive contributions they make, as well as knowing they are important, valued members of an organization.

Diversity

We must also consider diversity and perceptions. We come from different places and have different parents, educational experiences, and life experiences. When you come to the Air Force, you bring fresh ideas and new approaches. This is diversity. Rather than fear it, we should embrace diversity as a strength. The fact that the Air Force officer corps is predominantly a white, male group reflects neither the demographics of our enlisted force nor society at large. This is important because you lead within this context. Diversity necessitates that you assimilate all of your Airmen into one team.

When I commanded AETC, a young African-American Airman asked me, “Sir, where are the black role models?” My first thought was I just succeeded a great one at AETC—Gen Lloyd W. “Fig” Newton. Others that came to mind included the vice—commander, Lt Gen John D. Hopper Jr., and my roommate from Vietnam, Lt Gen Danny James. The more I thought about it, the more I found myself short of names. I began thinking about the essence of the question, so I called Darren McDew, an African-American lieutenant colonel I had met at a luncheon for officers assigned to Secretary of Defense Fellowships. I asked him the same question. Without pause he said, “The next time someone asks you where the African-American role models are, you say, ‘You’re looking at one.’ “

Some of you fear diversity because you think we are talking about race or gender—and we are to a degree. We are all Airmen, and we have to get out of our comfort zone. White males need to be there for Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics, males, and females. Similarly, Hispanic females need to be there for Asian males, black females for Hispanics, black males for white males and white females, and so on. My wife, Cynthia, and I have two sons in the military who need diverse role models. They both need Airman role models. We have to be role models for people who do not look like us. Diversity means equal opportunity—not equal outcomes. At the end of the day, performance counts—not privilege.

You will find Airmen of all races and both sexes. They wear the same uniform that you do—it says US Air Force on it. Think about diversity and its strength. Talk about it; do not walk away from it. I can discuss this subject more easily now because I have studied it. I have talked to people, I live it, and I believe it. I am passionate about it, and you should be as well. Do not shy away from it—this is too important.

Figure 2. Officer retention. (From Air Force Personnel Center, http://www.afpc.randolph.af. mil/afpcsecure/default.asp [requires AFPC secure access].)

Perceptions

Today’s Air Force leaders have to be students of popular culture. As commanders, you need to appreciate the values, pressures, and concerns of the young people you lead. It is important to know and address perceptions. Remember that perception is reality to those who believe it. How do you find out about the word on the street and the “hot button” issues? The best way is to walk around and listen to your people. Reading the Air Force Times is valuable as well. The important point is to stay in touch and learn the issues. Next, you must know the facts behind the issues; otherwise, you will be killed by anecdotes. Only with the facts can you address the issues in several forums. Commander’s calls offer one great venue.

Commander’s calls are not optional events in ACC—we hold them regularly. They are the most visible and effective means for you to communicate with your unit and establish leadership credibility. You should get the word out by touching as many people as you can. It is important to get in front of your people, let them see you, and give them feedback. By the way, commander’s calls are not easy. They take preparation. You have to research the issues. On some occasions, you will not have the answer. When this happens, you have to be strong enough to say, “I don’t know the answer to that question. Thanks for asking. I’ll get back to you.” Then, when you have the answer, make sure you put the word out to everyone.

You must also know about two other psychological matters. I remember from a psychology class on guidance and analysis of Airmen that every one of them needs both change and feedback. Change? Does this mean we need to undergo a permanent change of station every three years? Yes, because we are the type of people who do not wish to stay in the same spot for 10 years. Airmen love challenging environments and have the knack to adapt and overcome. We thrive on change—not ritual. Feedback? Why is it critical to success? If you ask your people if they receive feedback and then ask them their perception of leadership, you will find a direct correlation between perceived feedback and perceived leadership. When Airmen believe they receive little feedback, their opinion of leadership is low. Conversely, when they receive adequate feedback, their opinion of leadership is very high. Whether formal or informal, feedback is important. Officer and enlisted performance reports are just the beginning. Feedback entails more than sitting down with one of your Airmen and saying, “Well, you did this okay, and you did not do this so well. Any questions?” You can give feedback to someone simply by walking up, shaking hands, smiling, and saying hello. If you describe someone’s actions, your perceptions, and your feelings about him or her, this is feedback. “Here is what you did, here is what I saw, and here is what I felt.” The bottom line is your people need feedback.

Communication

Communication, a prerequisite to good leadership, is vital to building a team. You cannot build a team, working in concert towards your objectives, without clearly telling your subordinates what you hope to achieve, providing a suggested course of action, and letting them know how they are doing along the way. Communication is a two-way street. Be receptive to hearing from your Airmen. You will get many good ideas this way.

In rank order, my preferred modes of communication are (1) face-to-face conversation, (2) phone call, (3) short note, and (4) short e-mail. If you do not hear from me, that means only one thing: you are not hearing from me. It does not mean anything—good or bad. E-mail can be a wonderful thing, but it can also turn into a time-consuming monster. It should be short and to the point. Do not waste time crafting a pretty e-mail when a quick phone call would do the trick. E-mail is a communication—not a leadership—tool. You cannot lead Airmen from behind a keyboard. Most e-mail will wait. Get out and spread your message face-to-face—lead from the front.

Today’s society requires analog leadership instead of digital leadership. Some of you are very comfortable with the latter, believing that you can manage and lead by e-mail. I walk around units and see people in their offices in a figurative three-point stance, mouse in hand, ready to pounce on the next e-mail that arrives. I want them away from their desks, performing analog leadership—full-body contact, person-to-person and face-to-face. This is what it takes and what our people are starving for. It is so easy to get distracted. I asked my executive -officer to build three e-mail folders for me: once-an-hour, once-a-day, and once-a-week. I told him, “You are in charge of my e-mail.” If I really must see it, put it in the once-an-hour folder, which I check regularly. By the end of the day, I will have cleaned out this folder—and, usually, my once-a-day folder. When I go home on the weekend, I will address the rest of the correspondence. That is, I try not to be a slave to e-mail. I get out often and spend time with people because they make the world go around—not e-mail, staff packages, or staff summary sheets.

Communicating bad news is part of being a leader. I recognize that bad things happen and leaders have their share of crises to resolve—some of their own making. Bad news does not get better with age. Senior leaders do not like to learn about problems from sources other than you. Communicate early and often.

Communicating singularly is not enough; you must teach across the chain of command. When I was a fighter squadron commander, I learned that if I wanted people to understand what was going on, I had to communicate and teach three levels deep. First, if you are a squadron commander, meet with your flight commanders and operations officers. Second, in a flying squadron, meet with the instructor pilots. Third, have the same meeting with all the pilots. Soon, the pilots will hear your message from the instructors, and the instructors will be saying the same thing to the flight commanders. All of your people will have the word, and they will see you care for them as individuals. You must be persistent. Once you have talked about it and driven the point home until you are blue in the face, then you are only beginning. You must talk the talk, and you must get out and walk the walk. Leaders must teach, teach, and teach.

Balance

When you are a commander—and for the remainder of your Air Force career—prepare yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually every day. As a leader, you must maintain this balance. We have a new Air Force physical fitness program—”Fit to Fight.” Does this mean you need to be a gym rat or look like Arnold Schwarzenegger? No, because you may be lacking in the other two vital elements. Our Air Force needs balanced individuals.

I hope all of you have a chance to attend something similar to the great executive-training course I recently completed. We learned a person’s productivity depends upon his or her maintaining a balance among family, community, job, and spirit. Choosing an entity to anchor your spirit is your decision. Some people call it God; others have some other name. Whatever it is, you had better have something bigger than yourself, because your life is not going to be rich enough without it. Make sure you strike a balance, and when you visit your people, try to make them understand what it is and how to achieve it. Many people will look to you as a personal example, based both on your principles and your presence.

Accountability

Next, accountability is fundamental to our line of work. Clearly outline your expectations to your unit, and set high, achievable standards. If your goals are unreachable, you are setting your people up for failure. After you set your standard, never apologize; instead, enforce it and differentiate between a mistake and a crime. Listen carefully to the advice of your staff, but don’t abdicate your disciplinary responsibility to anyone. Leadership has two absolute standards: (1) you will not succeed if you exploit your people; you need to inspire them and take them to new heights, but not at their expense and (2) you must neither practice nor tolerate prejudice or harassment. We owe our people an environment free of bigotry.

Developing Leaders

Your first duty as a leader is not to lead your team to victory or get an “outstanding” on the operational readiness inspection. It is to develop more leaders—to bring people up in your organization (table 3). Make them better than they were when they first joined it. Make your organization better than it was when you assumed command.

Table 3. My charge to every leader Adapted from John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of  Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998), 210.

Some people excel at building followers. The adage “You have to be able to follow before you can lead” is true. But to build only followers is to be too comfortable in an entourage. Leaders who develop followers need to be needed. Leaders who develop leaders want to be succeeded. Leaders who develop followers focus on weakness. Leaders who develop leaders focus on people’s strengths. Leaders who develop followers treat people the same. Leaders who develop leaders treat people differently because they are different. Why would anyone treat everyone the same? When commanders attempt to sound fair, I sometimes hear them say, “I treat everyone the same.” If you do, in my book you are a failure as a leader. If you are a builder of followers, you likely hoard power. Leaders who develop leaders delegate power. Leaders who develop followers spend time with others. If you develop leaders, you will invest your time in others. When you build leaders, your investment grows not by addition but by multiplication because you will not only affect the people you touch, you will also affect people you will never meet. Again, the first duty of a leader is to develop more leaders.

Armed with this first duty, my priorities, based on the letter U, are as follows: (1) USA, (2) USAF, (3) unit, and (4) “U.” Our country is our first priority, followed by our service, unit, and ourselves. Placing the U last does not diminish the sanctity of the individual. However, when we are talking about pieces and parts, the individual is subordinate to the good of the unit, the USAF, and the country. We expect you, the commanders, to make tough calls. Strive to attain others’ respect; if you are also popular, that’s great. When it comes to your people, I expect you to claw and fight for their well-being, but balance it with what is best for the unit, the Air Force and, ultimately, the Nation. Unit cohesion is more important than the squeaky wheel. I encourage you to listen to the sound of the entire orchestra—not just the sound of the out-of-tune oboe.

Mentoring

Do not just spend time with others; invest time in them. This is mentoring—really another word for leading. As we advance to positions of greater responsibility, the Air Force demands more of us. However, many times it does not properly prepare us. I would rather have someone teach me lessons learned than go through the same school of hard knocks. It would have been helpful to me if my leaders had said, “Hornburg, I see what you are trying to do. I used to do the same thing you are doing, and I made mistakes 18 different ways. Let me show you the right way to do this.” This is a form of mentoring. I do not necessarily want someone to tell me what to do and how to do it. Instead, I want commanders and supervisors to pass on their Air Force experiences and examples of responsibility to subordinates. I want to see commanders make a concerted effort to sharpen their subordinates. However, mentoring does not need to be a touchy-feely, kumbaya experience. In my view, all mission-driven mentoring involves love—sometimes tough love, which is nothing more than doing the right thing even when it is not easy for both parties. Sometimes you must tell people the way things are whether they want to hear it or not. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Create an environment in which people can succeed. This is mentoring.

Coaching

Good coaching is an intimate process, a unique and cooperative effort that often changes the course of a person’s career and sometimes his or her life. Remember, every person is different. There is no cookie-cutter approach to coaching. Don’t try to be like George C. Scott in the movie Patton. If you aren’t like General Patton before the change of command, you won’t be like him afterwards. Be yourself. After all, the Air Force placed you in command. According to an old saying heard in Texas, “When you go to a dance, you dance with the one that brung you.” As commanders, you should have confidence in the coaching attributes that brought you this far. It is too late to look for a way to change your DNA.

Quality of Life

Everything discussed to this point combines to simultaneously produce an effective mission and a positive working climate, as we see from the results of the Air Force’s Quality of Life Survey of 2002 (table 4). Possible explanations for these numbers include the large pay raise in October 1999, improvements in the military retirement system, a soft economy, and patriotic fervor. More pilots and second-term Airmen reported that their families support their Air Force careers. Even a large percentage of those who plan to leave the Air Force responded that our service is a good place to work. We are making great strides in housing, but health care remains a challenge. Overall, the Air Force is a good place to be.

Those of you who are squadron commanders bear an incredible amount of responsibility and know your people better than you will at any other time or level of command. By the time you become group or wing commanders, people will distance themselves from you because you will have become unattainable. That means you will have to work harder and harder to get to your people’s realm and understand what makes them tick. As squadron commanders, you must dedicate yourselves to your new “families.”

What most impressed me about the results of ACC’s Climate Survey of 2003 is our ability to sustain high levels of satisfaction among Airmen (fig. 3). Since 1999 our command has focused on people first, and positive results are evident in all 13 factors depicted. Nonetheless, we need to pay more attention to recognition.

We all remember going through the Quality Air Force movement. Although well intended, it produced some bizarre behavior for military organizations. The process became more important than the product—accomplishment of the mission. Some even misunderstood empowering subordinates to the detriment of regulations and checklist compliance. A leader’s touchstone is to do what’s right. You must fight for resources to go with taskings; talk three levels deep to your people; and mentor, coach, and lead—all this other stuff will take care of itself, and you will have a quality organization. The product is more important than the process. But if the product is deficient, we have to look at the process. We must develop metrics that measure what we do and then compare ourselves to a benchmark—but I’m not advocating mindless adherence to numbers. Use them as the analytical tool they were intended to be. In reality, “quality” is simple: measure, compare, and reward. Recognize all Airmen for their contributions, and be sure to reward superior performers. Finally, I leave you with several points to consider and one last example that illustrates the importance of leadership.

Parting Shots

Commanders are a force multiplier. As I have discussed, command style affects every aspect of how units operate, so make the effect positive.

Readiness includes strength of character. Being prepared involves more than having the proper equipment and training. It means being mentally and emotionally ready to endure war and hardship. Don’t just memorize our core values—live them. We intentionally say, “Integrity first.”

As a leader, your life should reflect spiritual, physical, and mental balance. You should not have too much of one without the others. If we had this right, our suicide rate would be declining. Make sure you strike a balance, and when you visit your people, try to make them understand what this balance is and how they can achieve it. Stay balanced and fit to fight.

It is better to wear out than to rust out. Leadership requires movement. The static leader who merely maintains the status quo is actually falling behind. Keep units focused on improvement. Leadership involves decisiveness. Although delegation is fundamental to good leadership, the abdication of responsibility is its anathema. Know the difference between the two. Make a difference wherever you go; do not rust in place. Remember, people are our greatest assets.

If you don’t shoot, you can’t score. Commanders have to take chances and encourage their people to do likewise. Take calculated risks. Remember the benefits of chance: (1) if you do fail, you learn what does not work, and (2) it gives you an opportunity to try a new approach. Strive to develop a climate that rewards creativity, not one that compromises safety or encourages unnecessary risk. If a decision could hurt people or equipment unnecessarily, that’s risk, not chance, and it is unacceptable. However, if you are giving everything you have and trying to do your job in an honest and straightforward way, then you are covered in my book.

Family is the most important thing you have. You must nurture and sustain your family with vigor and passion. When we ask you to go to war, we trust that you have taken care of your family. Why? Because by taking care of themselves in your absence, they will be taking care of you. If conflicts exist between your family and your career, put the career aside and save your family. One day your family will end, and one day your job will end. Make sure your job ends before your family does. When you are at home, make time to spend with your family. You may not have time to coach a team, but you should have time to watch your children practice. Taking time to go to their games on Saturday is more important than playing golf. Golf will be there when your kids are not—trust me.

Quality of life is more than new furniture. New furniture and air-conditioning have to do with quality of living, but I’m talking about quality of life. How Airmen feel about their jobs and the pride they have in accomplishing the mission—that’s quality of life. Our Airmen deserve to know we appreciate what they do.

Take your leave. There’s no excuse for losing leave unless you are involved in long-term combat operations. Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Noble Eagle make it difficult for some people to take leave. We will take care of those situations. Combat operations come first, but do not view ongoing contingency operations as a free pass to ride your people unnecessarily. Leave is an entitlement; if we do not use it, we will lose it. Besides, our people need to take leave. Have a plan for rest and recuperation.

Don’t walk past a problem. We are in the mode of minding our own business, which is fine sometimes. However, when you see something wrong, correct it—do not just walk by. Do not forget to back-brief the chain of command or anybody who needs to know. Merely ignoring a problem will not make it go away—nor will simply recognizing it. Get out your crowbar and use your leverage to fix those trouble spots. We should not ignore something just because it is “not our problem.”

Lead, mentor, and coach your Airmen. Love and take care of them. That is the first thing I would like you to worry about. Get away from the office and look around. Visiting the dorm areas may be more important than sitting in your office reading staff packages. Your Airmen will take their cue from your attitude. Be an enthusiast. Staying upbeat, confident, and enthusiastic is positively infectious. You will have bad days, but share them only with your dog.

Command is a marathon, not a sprint. Command tours last about two years, so I advise you not to sprint the first month and burn out. Because you can do only a certain number of things, prioritize the areas where you need to put your energy. Build a program and pace yourself. Staying late in the office also keeps your people late. You will wear them out and possibly ruin their family lives. If you must work late, bring it home where no one has to notice and no one has to stay and support you. If you must work at home, try to do it after you put your children to bed.

One last example best illustrates the importance of leadership. In ACC’s Climate Survey of 1999, we compared two squadrons: Unit A and Unit B (fig. 4). The higher bars indicate more positive responses. Unit B rated quite a bit higher in every category. Why? Look at what the B squadron members said about leadership versus what those in A had to say. You might think these squadrons were at different bases, but they were right across the street from each other. Leadership made all the difference.

The American people have entrusted you, our Air Force commanders, with an incredible amount of responsibility. Early in the Second World War, Gen George C. Marshall was asked if America had a secret weapon to win the war. “We do indeed,” he replied, “the best damn kids in the world.” He was right. Today’s heroic Airmen are those secret weapons, and commanding them is a great honor and privilege.

I hope that some of these thoughts will help and be of interest to you. They are all of interest to me. After 36 years of service, these ideas, principles, and values are what I believe.

Contributor

Gen Hal M. Hornburg, USAF, retired (BBA, Texas A&M University; MS, University of Utah), served as commander, Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Virginia, and air component commander for US Joint Forces Command and US Northern Command until his retirement in January 2005. The general commanded at all levels—flight, squadron, wing, numbered air force, and major command. He also commanded a composite fighter wing during Operation Desert Storm and the first Air Force composite wing during the service’s reorganization in 1991–92. General Hornburg directed air operations over Bosnia, commanded the Joint Warfighting Center, served on the Joint Staff, and directed operations at Headquarters US Air Force. He also served as Tactical Air Command’s F-15 demonstration pilot for the East Coast, as Air Force liaison officer to the US Senate, and as chief of the Air Force Colonels’ Group. Prior to assuming his final position, he commanded Air Education and Training Command. A command pilot with more than 4,400 flight hours, General Hornburg is a graduate of Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, National War College, Seminar 21 (Foreign Political and International Relations) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the National and International Security Program at Harvard University.

 

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Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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