Change is constant, embrace challenge

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Todd McCubbin
  • 709th Airlift Squadron commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  As 2007 comes to a close, I cannot help but think that it has certainly been a year of change in which the 512th Airlift Wing has performed superbly. 

One of the difficulties of being a reservist in the Air Force is dealing with the rate of change and finding the right balance of time, training and effort necessary to keep pace. This past year has brought a significant amount of change, including a new airlifter and new performance reports. It can be a little overwhelming. 

I was recently speaking to a friend about our "rapid changes" in the Air Force and in the 512th AW. He thought about it a while, smiled and then just started to laugh. Of course, I had to ask what was so funny. 

My friend proceeded to tell me about his father, a retired AF master sergeant, who had a long and storied career that spanned more than 20 years. My friend told stories of how his father was always talking about change. 

In those days, Airmen dealt with new aircraft every one to two years. The master sergeant served through the long and difficult conflict in Vietnam and dealt with the constant changes of the Cold War. He felt the stress and frustration over change. And, when my friend heard me speaking of similar issues, the memories of his father's stories flooded back to him. Change is indeed constant. 

Reflecting on this conversation, I realized every generation of Airmen has dealt with change. In every step of our AF Reserve history, units have been successfully changing and adapting to meet the challenges of their time. These changes have taken our Air Force from its infancy to the awesome force it is today. This wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of those who served before us. Thousands of Airmen helped make the necessary changes possible. 

This year will bring with it new challenges and yes, new change. This is our time; and, history will judge whether or not we made the changes as smooth and effectively as possible. If the changes seem as though they are overwhelming, pause and think back to what it was like in our AF history. Our forbearers worked through the difficulties, and so can we. We possess the proper planning, open lines of communication and positive attitude that will make the change happen.