This past year I have had the privilege to write posts
spotlighting amazing individuals who have each held themselves to high
standards in a variety of ways. After spending the past 10 weeks as one of
forty-three Air Force officers in military training I have been overwhelmed by
numerous fresh examples from across the country and world. It was too difficult to choose just
one member to interview so I decided to write about the whole class :)
This experience revealed to me that to keep your standards “high”,
or to “raise” them implies there is a relativism involved when it comes to
things like standards. Although I
subscribe to the belief of an ultimate standard that I fall short of regularly, it is also in our day to day interactions with
individuals where we choose to live a life that drags the standards of others
down, or lifts them up. These constant interactions sharpen each individual involved
much like iron sharpens iron to become a better version of themselves.
While spending 10
weeks around some very impressive people I felt my “high” standards tugged at
in both directions. This tug back and forth was a challenge I am very appreciative
of because it pushed me to grow and not be content with where I was at. Below is a short tribute to the members of
Raptor and Lightning II flights and the short chapter of life we shared
together (warning, this is one of those "you had to be there" type poems).
Flying and
driving we made our way
43 lives on a
10 week track to that graduation day
Raptors
appreciated our Miller time while L2 enjoyed their tips from Pitts
With a class
full of leaders, talent and sass there were many highs with very few dips
Friends and
weight were gained @ NOLA and Half Shell
Although some
tabs and tales we rather not tell
Acing tests,
community service and 0500 PT balanced us out
With shared
stories from Hart and hearts we continued our 38P route
Forming,
storming, norming, performing oh yeah that is part of our class reel
Next stop:
kicking butt at OFE, with Red Horse Cadre wondering “are these O’s for real?”
With MREs,
tents and Turkey we came together
With a host of
memories, this time spent has made us each better
Keep your standards
aimed high even if you may miss the mark now and then
Know your integrity,
service and excellence set the stage for the next gen
Remember what
taking chance means to you for the suit of duty we each wear is a tailored fit
Bang
Bang!...Woooow! Time flies…thank you all and know every day...you saw this coming...it was worth it
- Banner1
