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  • Escaping Paradise: A Story of Camp Fire Survivors

    Escaping Paradise: A Story of Camp Fire Survivors

    “I called my mom while we were being evacuated and I told her ‘Mama, I love you. The town is on fire and I don’t think we’re going to make it out,’” said my aunt Mary Gowins, who fled for her life, Nov. 8 as the deadliest fire in California history ravaged her town of Paradise. The Northern California “Camp Fire” to date, has taken the lives of 86

  • Women's History Month

    “When I was in Vietnam in 1967, I was not weapons qualified. In fact, we were not permitted to carry weapons. I was up along the Cambodian border once with a field artillery battalion. The only thing I could do was run around carrying a purse--I called it my “M-16 purse.” I was wearing a baseball cap, no helmet, no flak jacket, no weapons, nothing. I was a liability to that unit. Women in the Army don't want to be liabilities. They want to be assets, partners in defense with their male counterparts.” - U.S. Army Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Evelyn Foote
  • Ensuring members are knowledgeable of the medical effects alcohol can have on the human body. For more information contact the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Flight at (530) 634-3420. (U.S. Air Force graphhic illustration by Airman Ramon A. Adelan/ released)

    Medical Effects of Alcohol

    Alcohol has a long list of obvious physical effects on the human body. We have heard for years how it delays the reaction time you need to drive safely. TV and movies vividly give us examples of how alcohol takes away the coordination you need to walk straight and to speak clearly. It gives some people the hiccups. And most people know it can lead

  • Characteristics of a Servant Leader

    As an Air Force member we are taught from early on in our careers about leadership, its concepts and what makes a good leader. We're taught that leadership is the art or skill to influence people to accomplish the mission. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject of leadership, yet it is still a somewhat nebulous concept that can be

  • The basics: honesty, respect, compassion

    Honesty, respect and compassion have great importance in everyday life. I consider these three tenets to be the basic building blocks of human relationships. As Americans, we are taught early that honesty is a virtue, that one must show respect to earn respect and that learning compassion requires standing in someone else's shoes. All of these are

  • The Balancing Act

    To be successful in your career and life requires a careful balance of two equally important factors: work, and personal time. It's no secret we have more obligations and stressors than ever before. Worldwide operations expand our mission, while economic factors result in budget constraints and zero manpower gains. We're encouraged to complete
  • Chaplain, Lt. Col. Mark Sahady, 9th Reconnaissance Wing wing chaplain

    Take a Deep B.R.E.A.T.H.

    Life can be overwhelming. When it becomes so, the most common sense advice is to breathe deeply and simplify your life. Recently, I had the opportunity to address a group of our community helping agency representatives to discuss the issues of persons becoming overwhelmed in their relationships. There were many things discussed, however, after
  • Master Sgt. Jason Davis, 489th Reconnaissance Squadron first sergeant. (U.S. Air Force photo/Released)

    The four stages of being an Airman

    Everyone who wears the uniform can relate to some key sages in their careers. There is the first stage where we become Airmen either through the "Gateway to the Air Force" at Lackland AFB, Texas, or through one of the various commissioning sources. In that stage, you want to learn all you can, look the best you can in your uniform, and do the small

  • Rabies: Take the ounce of prevention

    September 28th is World Rabies Day. It may sound a little strange--a day devoted to raising public awareness of rabies and the threat it poses to humans--because unless you have lived in Asia, Africa, or a developing country, it's likely that rabies is something that you have never had personal experience with. On the one hand, this is a good

  • What is an Airman?

    As a former military training instructor, I saw many trainees graduate basic training and become Airmen. They became very different people from the time they arrived at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. They had a sense of pride and honor knowing they had become part of the Air Force family. Even though I'm no longer an MTI, I can see some of that
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