April 1, 2011

Air Force uses

Global Hawk to

support Japan Re-

lief Efforts By: Pacific Air Forces Pub-

lic Affairs

Pacific Air Forces offi-

cials are using an RQ-4

Global Hawk from Andersen

Air Force Base, Guam, to

assist Japan responders in

disaster relief and recovery

efforts, following the March

11 earthquake and the result-

ing tsunami off the eastern

coast of Japan.

The Global Hawk, a high-

altitude, long-endurance un-

manned aircraft, is being

used to help assess damage

to towns, industrial infra-

structure and other facilities

affected during the earth-

quake and flood waters.

"The Global Hawk is an ide-

al ISR asset to aid in disaster

relief," said Gen. Gary

North, the PACAF com-

mander. "It directly comple-

ments ongoing efforts in the

region and represents how

advanced technology can

provide crucial and timely

support to senior officials

and search, recovery and

disaster relief efforts."

The Global Hawk also was

used for disaster relief efforts

following the 7.0-magnitude

earthquake that struck Haiti

in January 2010, officials

said. This will be the air-

craft's first use in a humani-

tarian operation in the Pacific

theater since it was perma-

nently assigned at Andersen

AFB in September 2010.

With approximately 30 hours

of flight endurance, the

Global Hawk provides a

broad view of the situation

on the ground, officials said.

Its ability to survey large

geographic areas also offers

decision-makers and first

responders near real-time

information to assess damage

and prioritize for local need.

Its long airborne dwell ca-

pacity also assures continu-

ous and long-lasting-support

for whatever require-

ments Japan's govern-

ment officials may require.

"The Global Hawk and the

expertise offered by our Air-

men further enhances the

country's already robust ca-

pabilities as our Air force

members work side by side

with Japan's Self Defense

Force profession-

als," General North said.

The aircraft allows the U.S.

to effec-

tively sup-

port contin-

gencies

throughout

the region,

demon-

strating a

commit-

ment to

partners

throughout

the Pacific,

and is one part of a wide

range of PACAF personnel

and aircraft that are support-

ing the Japanese operations,

officials said.

Brazilian Air Force Delayed Plans to procure a new advanced combat air-

craft for the Brazilian Air Force, originally

launched in the late 1990s, are facing a new

delay, sources in Sao Paulo have confirmed.

The final de-

cision on

which plat-

form will be

chosen to

fulfil the

FAB's F-X2

competition

for an initial batch of 36 fighters was supposed

to have been made before President Luiz Ina-

zio Lula da Silva left office at the end of 2010.

However, with Lula out of office his successor,

President Dilma Rousseff, wants to place the

approximately USD5 billion programme on

hold to reassess the options. The number of

new combat aircraft to be procured in a new

bidding process could be reduced to only 18

France to Receive CAESARS The Caesar truck-mounted artillery system is a

155mm 52-calibre self-propelled gun devel-

oped by Nexter Systems. The first production

Caesar system was delivered to the French

Army in July 2008.

Nexter Systems is set to complete the delivery

of CAESAR (Camion Équipé d'un Système

d'Artillerie) truck-

mounted 155

mm/52-cal self-

propelled artillery

systems to the

French Army by

the end of March.

The last four sys-

tems to be deliv-

ered are part of 77 CAESAR units under order

by the French procurement agency, the Direc-

tion Générale de l'Armement (DGA).

Royal Tai Navy Secures Ger-

man Submarines The Thai government has agreed to buy two

second-hand Type 206A diesel electric subma-

rines from the German Navy.

Payment for the purchase - which is under-

stood to be about USD220 million - has not yet

been secured, although funds are expected to

be sourced from the defense budget for Fiscal

Year 2012.

The German Navy

decommissioned

four Type 206A sub-

marines in mid-

2010. The boats are

35 years old and

were originally due for decommissioning be-

tween 2011 and 2015. German submarines had

been selected ahead of those offered by South

Korea and China, who had made available

Type 209s and Type 039s respectively.

Drowning in Paperwork By: Cadet Mark Ishizu

So last Monday I went to set out my uniform

and prepped for LLAB the next morning. My

nighttime ritual complete I climbed into bed

and started my favorite part of the day, or so I

thought…

Normally going to sleep is what I look forward

to with a passion! But if had known what was

waiting for me behind closed eyelids I would

have done anything, even go to FTP to avoid it.

In my dream I‟m walking towards the armory

when the door opens and instead of a scream-

ing POC it‟s a life size MFR! A monstrous

piece of paperwork starts chasing me around

campus! As I round a corner an FL-5 and a

LOC pop out and start hounding me!

Just when I thought it couldn‟t get any worse a

talking paper and a bullet background paper

start yelling at me to “DROP DOWN AND

WRITE A MEMO”. I‟m in no mood to argue,

as I‟m scribbling down a memo the ink seems

to come alive on the paper and it points out my

margins are .0098 off from the required inch!

At this point I‟m tossing and turning in bed as

form 1206 and form 48 pull out pens and start

to stab me!

I‟m shook awake by my wingman who lives

downstairs, as I return to consciences, I realize

I have to send in a weekly update to my flight

commander ASAP!

The moral of this tall tale? Don‟t forget to send

in your memos! And btw; Happy Easter!

Page 2

Exercise of the month! By: Cadet Jonathan Chavez

So, many of you are already aware of a certain

cadet wanting to be a marine. Now every time

we hit the gym, all I hear about is how badass

the Marines are. So here's to you cadet, a Ma-

rine workout

Needed for this exercise: Partner, a hanging

bar (pull ups)

-Start with 1/8 mile Fireman carry then switch

partners.

- One person jumps straight into pull ups, at

least 8(preferably 10+). While other person

goes directly to 30 push ups, then switch.

-Once finished, sprint 1/4 mile and directly go

to 30 sit ups.

-If you can do this, you've completed one set,

9 more to go. The goal is to spike your heart

rate and burn LOTS of calories. That being

said, this work out should be continuous with

small breaks, 15 seconds or less between sets.

-Good Luck and oh ya;

Semper Fi!

PT, a Mental

Battle

By: Cadet James Okeefe

PT: Is your mind a friend

or foe?

Each PT session you attend you always battle

something, whether it‟s sore legs and arms or

the blistering pain causing your chest to tight-

en up, but what is stopping yourself from

pushing past that? Is it the ability for your

body to continue or is it your mind telling

your body it can‟t go on? The biggest thing

most people assume when they can‟t do

something is the idea that they just aren‟t

physically capable. In most cases it‟s your

mind stopping you from continuing on. Eve-

rybody battles their mind during pt but the

problem is it takes practice to defeat it. Most

people don‟t think that it takes practice to

defeat their mind but it does. Every time you

workout you should practice going above and

past when your mind tells you to stop or slow

down. The longer you can go before stopping

strengthens your mind and body. Strengthen-

ing your mind will help you push through all

different types of new exercises, whether it‟s

P90X or a grueling Monday PT you will be

able to continue longer then you can think if

you work hard at each. But if you start you

must continue it into every workout you do,

or else you will lose this mental edge you may

have. What you create in your head is not

going to be an on-off switch you can keep

flipping anytime you want to, it will soon

become natural and you will have the mental

edge. So each time you try a workout and you

do this you will be able to increase the time

and the intensity of your workout making you

a stronger person both physically and mental-

ly.

Page 3

From the breakfast table

Do you know who said this?

“So I just found out I have a thing for gymnasts!”

“My biggest fear is torture, I’LL TELL YOU

WHATEVER YOU WANT, just don’t shock me!”

“So why are you eating eggs with a spoon?” “So I

can date a rich girl.”

“I thought you might have ma-

tured over Spring Break, but you

haven't changed a bit.”

“Do you shine your hair as much

as you shine your shoes?"

Balance By: Kelly Sidla

Balance -

something that

sounds so sim-

ple yet it is so

difficult for many of us to

manage. Whether it is school

work, a part-time job, prepar-

ing for LLAB, or school or-

ganizations; we are all faced

with the difficult task of bal-

ancing and organizing our

time.

Now imagine yourself with

another job added to that bal-

ance, the job of GMCA for

your wing. Not only does this

mean more to balance, but

greater responsibilities. C/3c

Ashton Schwinler is

GMCA for Eagle Wing I.

Throughout her

participation in

many organiza-

tions, as well as

working hard in all

her classes, she still

manages time to be

GMCA.

In an interview with

C/Schwinler, I asked

her about her experi-

ence as being GMCA.

She stated; “It has

helped me to see the

bigger picture in

terms of where every

cadet fits within Eagle

Wing I, and what we‟re all

training for. I would be jeop-

ardizing my integrity if I said

being GMCA was easy.

Balancing the priorities of

Wing Staff with the unique

needs and concerns of the

GMC is very challenging…

like walking a tightrope.” C/

Schwinler is an active partici-

pant in making Eagle Wing I

a successful unit. Through

her continued contributions

and hard work she is an ex-

ample of what all cadets

should work towards by be-

coming active participants

within the Detachment.

New Opportuni-

ties By: Kent Johnson

Anxiousness, Fear, Antic-

ipation. While these may

not be the path to the Dark Side that Yoda

warned Luke Skywalker against, they are

nevertheless a set of formidable roadblocks

to a job. Yet, that‟s how best I can describe

my feelings as I wait to commission and

eventually take off into the Wild Blue Yon-

der. Getting a rated slot wasn‟t the easiest

thing in the world, by a long shot, in a tech-

nical sense, or in an emotional sense. Nev-

ertheless, I got rated as a CSO and I could-

n‟t be more over the moon about it. I‟m

preparing to join the ranks of a mighty

brotherhood that includes two of my uncles,

and carry on the family tradition of military

service beginning with a commission

through ROTC at North Dakota State. I‟m

not going to lie; I‟m pretty nervous because

I know I have some big shoes to fill. At the

same time, I feel confident that everything

I‟ve learned here at Det 610 is preparing me

for something bigger and better out in the

“real world”. I hope your nerves never

overpower your reason for being here. As

they say in Star Wars, May the (Air) Force

be with us.

International Affairs: Lybia,

Sadun & North Katan

Instability in the Middle East and around the

world has put the U.S. in a questionable posi-

tion. Interfering outside of the UN lends itself

to international scrutiny, while playing by the

rules has not produced many results. Last

month‟s F15 crash and rising oil prices seem

to be the only results produced and while the

U.S. has followed suit behind the UN, cir-

cumstances of this morning‟s news may di-

vide the U.S. and the rest of the international

community.

Sources say that the aircraft which crashed

over the region of Sadun, located in central

Africa, took off from North Katan late last

night. It crashed

in the hostile

territory of

Sadun, a strictly

enforced no fly

zone since the

civil war of native

tribes explod-

ed in early 2001. Contents of the plane are

still unknown; however, satellite images re-

trieved directly following the crash show a lot

of activity around the crash site. The Sadun

region‟s no fly zone was solely enforced by

the United States military and it is safe to

assume the contents of North Katan‟s aircraft

have already been recovered or will be short-

ly. No official word has been issued on what

the U.S. plans to do about the violation of the

no fly zone or why North Katan was even in

the region of Sadun. One thing is for certain;

the contents of the downed aircraft are of high

value, and the U.S. will take action against

any rebel group whom may have secured the

contents.

Page 4

The Chili Madness By: Jonathan Keranen

The distinctive aroma of

chili went through the

Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse

on 2 March 2011. The source you may ask?

Why, none other than Eagle Wing I‟s Second

Annual Chili Cook-Off of course! People

from around the world gathered to gorge

themselves on all of the amazing chili, even

President Dean Bresciani was in attendance.

When the dust settled, a winner had to be

declared and “The C/General‟s 9-Pepper In-

timidator” by C/Ryne Lind-

quist took home the top

prize. A heated race was in

store for second place, but Lt

Porter eventually earned his

spot in the chili record books

with his secret home recipe.

The combination of C/

Daniel Parks and C/Karl

Koopmeiners shined above

the rest to earn third place.

This year‟s event was a great

success. A lot of planning

took place by both chili staff

as well as the cookers themselves

to make the event so great. Judg-

es were also kind enough to take

time out of their busy schedules

to assist in declaring a winner.

That being said, the biggest thank

you of all goes out to everyone

who attended the event. Your

support is what makes this event

so great. Hopefully everyone had

a great time, and we will see you

at next year‟s Chili Cook-Off.

Safety With-

in the Wing By: Dan Parks

Office of Special

Investigations

(OSI), the name in itself

evokes a certain level of mys-

tique and respect. Essentially,

the AFOSI officer acts as a

combination between a civil-

ian crime scene investigator

and government special agent

that one would see in the Fed-

eral Bureau of Investigation

for the United States Air

Force. As the cadets of De-

tachment 610 are surely aware

by now, we received a briefing

from not only an OSI, a FBI

Special Agent, but also a secu-

rity forces member. After

recent events that took place

on the UND campus, this

quick lesson will help Detach-

ment 610 cadets to recognize

any future threats, not only in

our cadet career, but also in

our future Air Force careers. I

know for myself, I took a lit-

eral cornucopia of information

from the three briefings

we received. It was in-

credibly informative to

have experts in the field

to give us the most re-

cent, important, and ef-

fective methods of coun-

ter-intelligence. I am sure that

every cadet that attended

walked away with something

that they never realized or that

they can use to ensure national

security stays uncompromised.

These skills will help us con-

tinue to evolve into flexible,

capable, and future sighted Air

Force leaders.

Lt Porter on Work Ethic

By C/3c Nick Proulx

We are over halfway there. It‟s crazy, but the

days are getting longer and the end seems

within reach. After mid-terms and a healthy

heaping of suspenses though, the phrase

“work ethic” sounds like an afterthought. It

might be easy to let things sit on the back

burner now, right?

Whatever your answer to that statement, the

truth is that the detachment can‟t really afford

laziness at the moment. There are still PMT

events to be completed and some cadets have

a QFR to work toward.

“What rings a bell for me are the core val-

ues,” said Lt Stephen Porter, Commandant of

Cadets at Eagle Wing I. For him, the core

values are the bedrock of good work ethic.

Integrity matters regardless of whether the job

is high scrutiny or largely unnoticed. Service

requires us to go the extra mile to help some-

one. Even if we‟re not the best for the job, we

need to always strive for excellence.

He cited his upbringing and his faith as con-

tributing sources for his own work ethic. “I

think it‟s something that‟s a little bit inherent

to

us,” Porter continued.

That‟s not to say that it‟s always been easy

for him. “The fall of my junior year was the

hardest four-month period of my life,” Porter

said, when asked about an experience that

challenged his own work ethic the most. As

an electrical engineering major, he was re-

quired to take the highest-level math courses

at the Air Force Academy, and he also had

relationship issues to contend with. Looking

back, however, Porter sees that period as a

turning point; he received his highest grades

that semester, which set him apart from his

classmates and later set him up for his job

assignment.

So, what advice does he offer to us cadets?

“Keep your head up. College is tough; what

you are pursuing is not easy, and it‟s not for

everyone,” he mentioned. “I‟ve always had a

motto, and that‟s, „Major on the majors, and

minor on the minors,‟” though Porter also

noted that we shouldn‟t give ROTC our lefto-

vers—we should do our best and use our

classmates for support.

So, before you put it on cruise control for the

next two months, find what really matters to

you and pursue the big picture.

Porter summed it up best by saying, “If you

want to get a mission done and done right,

you need the work ethic.”

Page 5

NAVY Tests UCAV By: suasnews.com

Already testing their Unmanned Air Combat Vehicle (UCAV), the X-47B

the US Navy is now seeking a new class of naval UAS.

The Naval Air Systems Command seeks proposals which conceptually

demonstrate that a UCLASS system can provide a persistent Carrier Vessel-

Nuclear (CVN) based Intelligence, Surveil-

lance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and strike

capability supporting carrier air wing opera-

tions in the 2018 timeframe.

The program anticipates leveraging existing,

deployed Department of Defense (DoD)

systems to launch, recover, and con- trol the

air vehicle, transfer data in support of time critical strike operations, and

conduct persistence ISR operations. The ongoing Unmanned Combat Air

System-Demonstration program will inform UCLASS development and

provide technology risk reduction for Unmanned Aircraft (UA) integration

into carrier environments.

The UCLASS system will enhance carrier capability, capacity, and versatili-

ty for the Joint Force Commander through integration of persistent and mis-

sion flexible UA into the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) by the 2018

timeframe. UCLASS will provide a UA capable of persistent surveillance

with precision strike. It will be a major step forward toward achieving oper-

ation and integration of manned with unmanned systems within the CVW

and will contribute to increasing sea-based capacity across the spectrum

of maritime and littoral missions. The system will be sustainable onboard

the carrier, maintained by fleet Sailors, and it should minimize increases in

the logistics footprint of the current CVW.

Spring Fever

Alert

By: Cadet Jacob Harstad

Oh the weather outside is…

warm? It‟s hard to believe but we can almost

start saying that about the weather up here in

the north. I don‟t know about you but I‟m

excited. Soon the heat can be turned off, my

fishing pole and golf clubs can come out, and

I can go from finding an excuse to stay inside,

to finding one to stay outside. What are you

looking forward to?

Now that may be great and all, but I would

like to give a little cautionary advice before

spring fever takes complete control. There are

still seven to eight weeks of school left. That

means more class projects coming to a close,

more exams and finals, and it even looks like

a little flood control. Might be a good time to

sit down and get a little prioritizing done. As

cadets, we have two main goals to focus on:

graduate and commission. That means contin-

uing to push forward in school, finishing that

paper and attending that last class on Friday

afternoon. It also means remembering to

check over that uniform each day before put-

ting it on. For the GMC, especially those

200s, it means continuing to review the D&C

manual and gaining as much field training

preparation as possible. Focusing on these

tasks will help us all to push through these

final weeks and into another great end to the

semester.

On the other end, I also remind you all to

schedule time for a little fun and a chance to

enjoy the weather. If you can, find yourself a

good book to read. Leadership is always a

good topic to begin with. If reading isn‟t your

thing, that‟s alright. Do something that clears

your mind and then gets you back in shape to

keep your mind focused; and keeps that spring

fever in check.

JACOB HARSTAD

C/LT COL, AFROTC

Inspector General

Eagle Wing II

2nd Annual Chili

Cook-Off

By: Cadet Yohanna Enders

Did you think that the ROTC

Cadets could be good cooks?

Well we have all tasted and witnessed the

cooking of many of our own cadet‟s master-

pieces. The Friday before Spring Break De-

tachment 610 hosted their second Annual

Chili Cook-Off! Many Air Force cadets,

Army cadets and Cadre mem-

bers were there to socialize, eat

some chili and take part in a

heated competition. All the

cadets were interested in seeing

who would win, especially

because there had been some

smack talk on the message

board. We had a wide variety of different

chilis at this year‟s Chili Cook-

Off. Some of the chilis were:

Cowpuncher, Sioux-age, and

Maui Poui. Our judges this year

had a very tough time deciding

which chili was the best, but after

chowing down and eating some corn

bread, they were able to come to a conclu-

sion. The overall winner was the Chili from

our very own GMCA Cadet Matt Stout, who

made the Cowpuncher. The Chili that took

audience choice was the Moui Poui by Ca-

dets Jaysen Ely and Ryan

McKinley. This year there

was a lot of smack talked be-

tween contestants, and we

hope next year those cadets

who talk smack this year, will

show up and make it happen

again next year!

Page 6

C/Stout

“Yap, because he said he

better be the first one to

find out.”

Current AF Sports Team Records: Hockey: 1 win 1 loss 1 tie - 1 loss 1-5, 1 tie 4-4, 1 victory 9-5

Soccer: 4 wins 1 losses - 2 forfeits, 1 victory 4-0

C/Jackson

“Stout, cause he was curi-

ous.”

C/Carney

“Gabert, because we were

both waiting to find out

and when I walked out I

told him.”

C/Harris

“Wiggins, he just hap-

pened to be in the office

when I heard the good

news. That‟s my boy right

there!”

C/Gabert

“Carney, he was the only

person in the front office.”

C/Wiggins

“My Mom! She told me

Good Job!”

The Future of the United States Air Force These 6 cadets have just received field training enrollment allocations. Not only are they

guaranteed spots at field training 2011 they are well on their way to pinning on golden 2nd

Lt. Bars.

The talon staff asked these cadets; “who was the first person you told when you learned

you got a Enrollment Allocation”? These are their answers, read and enjoy!

Page 7

The Reason For

The Guard

By: Cadet Kaitlin Bennett

As an EWII Guardsman,

you receive the opportunity to present the

colors at many public events: hockey games,

retirement homes, local conferences, combat

dining in and outs, and for special guests.

During my PDT at Nellis AFB as a seasoned

100 cadet, I followed the Nellis Honor Guard

and discovered the far less festive feel that the

Guard had on an active base. This was be-

cause most ceremonies done by base Honor

Guards are, in fact, funerals- a heavy respon-

sibility. Later, during my stay at Nellis AFB,

an F-15 crashed during an exercise and the

life of Lt Col Thomas A. Bouley was taken.

Suddenly, every event I had done as a guards-

men was lit in a different and more personal

light; all events boiled down to one thing:

Honor.

Handpicked to serve as a member of

the United States Air Force Honor

Guard, my standards of conduct and

level of professionalism must be above re-

proach, for I represent all others in my ser-

vice.

Others earned the right for me to wear

the ceremonial uniform, one that is hon-

ored in a rich tradition and history. I will

honor their memory by wearing it proper-

ly and proudly.

Never will I allow my performance to be

dictated by the type of ceremony, severi-

ty of the temperature or size of the

crowd. I will remain superbly condi-

tioned to perfect all movements through-

out every drill and ceremo-

ny.

Obligated by my oath,

I am constantly driven

to excel by a deep

devotion to duty and a

strong sense of dedica-

tion.

Representing every

member, past and pre-

sent, of the United

States Air Force, I vow

to stand sharp, crisp and

motionless, for I am a Ceremonial

Guardsman.

As officers, it will be very unlikely any of us

will ever have the privilege of serving on a

Honor Guard detail. So even though our cadet

Honor Guard does not typically participate in

the ceremonies of those fallen, we still repre-

sent those individuals. We serve as a solemn

and mournful reminder of the collective body

of brothers and sisters, our duty to our coun-

try, and the price that is paid. It is a unique

opportunity given to our cadets and it is an

honor that no Guardsman should take for

granted.

What do you say?

Even though we all wear the same uniform and march on exactly the same beat every single

ROTC cadet is different. We asked a few of our cadets; “what makes you smile?” Here's

what some of your fellow cadets had to say!

C/Bjorgan: Nice Cars, witnessing a good prank, and baby otters playing with stuffed walruses.

C/Jagstadt: C/Meiser at 0625 on Tuesdays

C/Jackson: Watching the Army march.

C/Tambeaux: Hearing a certain PFO (Rodriguez) call the wrong facing movements during stretching.

PHOTO CONTEST

1. One entry per cadet.

2. Can be of anything, not

just restricted to ROTC

related events (appropriate).

3. Deadline April 19 COB.

4. Either send the picture via email (JPEG)

or printed on photo paper, not computer pa-

per. To mark.ishizu@und.edu

5. Picture has to be taken by the one who is

submitting it into the contest (no download-

ing off the internet or taking from some-

one else's photo library).

Go ahead,

Show off

a little!

You might

win a pretty

cool prize!

Cites/Disclaimer:

The photos used in this publication are not the sole property of the publication and are subject to their own copy write and infringement policies. The intended use of any photos or graphics is not for commercial or financial gain. This is a non profit publication to benefit

the Students of North Dakota State University and The students of the University of North Dakota. There is no intent to infringe upon nor claim credit for original works or photos. The cover photo is from the san Francisco sentinel , The f35 article is from www.af.mil,

The around the world section news is from www.janes.com and world net daily subject to appropriate copywrites. Copyright © IHS (Global) Limited, 2011 AFROTC DET610 Cartoon and other „funnies‟ section is created by cadets within detachment 610.

“This publication is published by the Board of Student

Publications at the University of North Dakota. Opinions

expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of

UND, Student Government, the Board of Student Publica-

tions or the administration, faculty, staff, or student body

of the University of North Dakota.”

This publication is a joint publication

between AFROTC Eagle Wing I and Eagle

Wing II. If you have any questions or

comments or corrections for the editor

please direct them to: Mark Ishizu at

mark.ishizu@und.edu or Samantha Mail-

hot at samantha.mailhot@ndsu.edu

Dynamic Follow-

ership By: Captain Micheal Blake

Here in ROTC we talk about

leadership and provide opportu-

nities for you to practice

“leadership” before you enter

active duty. The success of any

mission relies on good leader-

ship, but it also requires an ele-

ment of leadership that is not

talked about too often - follow-

ership.

As an Airman, I remember

learning about "dynamic fol-

lowership", but if you open the

enlisted Professional Develop-

ment Guide (PDG) today, you'll

only find one and half pages on

the subject. Inside the PDG

you will find the following list

of followership qualities: Or-

ganizational understanding,

decision making, communica-

tion skills, commitment, prob-

lem solving, integrity, adapta-

bility, self-employment, cour-

age, and credibility. These are

all good qualities, but they are

also qualities that make up

good leadership. So, what is

the difference? Instead of try-

ing to explain the book answer,

I‟ll give you a couple examples

of "followership pitfalls" to

avoid.

The first pitfall I see is when

people fail to change roles.

Have you ever heard someone

say, "The boss said we have to

do it" or "I don't make up the

rules, I'm just doing what I'm

told?" I‟ve heard this a lot dur-

ing my career, and granted,

sometimes there is no other

way to get the point across. I

remember once a few years ago

when I asked an NCO to cor-

rect his Airman's uniform viola-

tion. A few hours later his Air-

man came to me and mentioned

how he was now in compliance.

Instead of accepting responsi-

bility as this young Airman's

leader, he told his Airman "the

boss" wants you to correct the

violation. Unfortunately, when

we pass up the opportunity to

take ownership in doing the

right thing, we not only lose

credibility with our superiors,

but we also lose it with our

subordinates.

The second pitfall I see is relat-

ed to priorities. Have you ever

been frustrated with having to

support an idea or task that

seems unimportant to you, or

goes against what you think is

the right course of action? As a

lieutenant, I can remember be-

ing frustrated when my boss

told me to change my direction

on a particular project, or forget

what I was working on for a

minute and take care of some-

thing else. It is important to

always try to understand the big

picture and think in terms of

what is best for the team, not

just your particular office. As

followers, we shouldn't be

afraid to ask questions if we

need clarification, and as lead-

ers we should never assume our

subordinates automatically un-

derstand the big picture either.

While you continue your time

in ROTC developing your lead-

ership skills, don't forget to

commit yourself to being a

good follower as well. Practice

your followership skills, have

the courage to stand up for

what is right, and set your pri-

orities based on what is im-

portant to the team as a whole.

Page 8

EDUCATION:

1993 Associates of Applied Sci-

ence in Avionics Technology,

Community College of the

Air Force, Maxwell Air Force

Base, Alabama

2001 Bachelor‟s degree in Industri-

al Technology, University of

Southern Illinois, Carbondale,

Illinois

2002 Air and Space Basic Course,

Maxwell Air Force Base,

Alabama

2002 Basic Communications Of-

ficer Training, Keesler Air

Force Base, Mississippi

2004 Master‟s degree in Business

Administration, Touro Uni-

versity International, Cypress,

California

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORA-

TIONS:

Air Force Commendation Medal

(3 OLC)

Air Force Achievement Medal

with (1 OLC)

National Defense Service Medal

with bronze star

Iraqi Campaign Medal

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMO-

TION:

Second Lieutenant - 15 Nov 2001

First Lieutenant - 15 Nov 2003

Captain - 15 Nov 2005

Cover Shot

A USAF Global Hawk Launched from

Beale Air Force Base, Calif., Jan. 13,

2010, to assist with the humanitarian aid

mission in Haiti .

Next Month look forward to an end of Semester

Special Edition.

The “the talon” is published by the Communication Squadron led with excellence by Cadet 1st Lt. Vinge