 The best advice I can give you is welcome to the journey of impeccable character. If you're going to succeed in the profession of arms, it'll be because you continue to work on character. I don't think it's actually a destination. I think it's a journey that we're all on throughout our career, especially for leaders, for airmen. It starts and ends with character. We are expected to be able to deliver air and space power, and that requires a level of competence that we've got to work towards every day. So that combination of character first and competence is what our nation requires in each of us as airmen. The life cycle of an American airman runs parallel to the airframes they support. First, the parts are found. Let's go! Let's go! Hurry up! Close the gap! Let's go! Then assembled, then tested until they're reliable and battle ready. In order to be successful, a U.S. airman is required to master their Air Force specialty code, be in top physical, mental and spiritual form, and to be an exceptional leader. That process lasts the entire life cycle of an airman and begins early on during the recruitment phase. Everyone that I've ever talked to, a veteran or anything, has always said, if I could go back, I would do the Air Force. That's kind of what swayed my decision. It's just kind of the interaction with other guys that have had the experience. Teamwork is probably a huge contribution to the Air Force, and that's something that I know I need to prove on, and especially with my job, if I choose to do special operations and I go EOD, I know it's one of the toughest jobs, and definitely having a team that is trained just as much as you are, and a brotherhood and just kind of the connection you have. Developing the right airman starts with attracting and recruiting the best of those eligible to serve, and requires a hands-on approach to getting to know the recruits available. That's the number one benefit of being a recruiter. You get to influence and impact individuals' lives. Sometimes we do with recruits like Thomas. Thomas was an excellent recruit, and I think he's going to do excellent in the Air Force. One reason why I like doing this job is to influence those guys and to really make a difference in their lives. Yes, sir! Just going in, kind of as I am now, just coming out of high school, I would hope to see and predict that I would be more disciplined, just come out, I would say momentary. Senator McLeod definitely has made a huge impact as a recruiter. I feel like when I first decided that this was the choice and the path I want to take being a recruiter, he was definitely there for me. And when I got to a point where I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and he offered up the special operations, I'm looking at it now that if I do take that path and I do do really well in it, that looking back, it would be a huge impact that he made in my life. Once an airman graduates from basic military training and technical training school, the next phase in their development requires hands-on mentorship and good job training. More so than materials and CBTs, an airman's growth begins at the supervisory level. I think they've always, my supervision's always done a good job of kind of seeing my future before I see it. So they kind of laid out a lot of opportunities for me to get into. They kind of knew when that good time was to kind of take their hands off my steering wheel and just kind of give me the kind of path forward and just kind of let me go down that way. Looking back at it, yeah, it helped me grow and mature really well and I thank them for that for sure. The time, mentorship and training in airman is an investment. Throughout its existence, the Air Force has strived not only to develop leaders, but to keep them. Today we honor them as graduates from the Community College of the Air Force. In addition to serving Air Force priorities, the Air Force has taken on initiatives, some service-wide and some career field-specific, but all with the same objective, increasing a competitive position for hiring top talent. To get those airmen to come in our Air Force, we've got to make sure that we're putting them in the right job. When we recruit the airmen, we find the best fit for what AFSC that airman can go in. Because if we miss and we put airmen into wrong jobs that they absolutely hate and that airman does not want to be enlist, we have several hundred thousand dollars invested in that airman and we want a good return on that investment. The way we keep in the best, most talented airmen is to make sure that they feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves, make them feel like they're a part of a team, make them feel like they're important. It doesn't matter how much money you pay them or how many benefits you give them, if they do not feel like they're a part of something, they're not going to want to be here. That feeling of belonging translates back to strengthening joint leaders and teams. Airmen fly, fight and win in complex domain environments. To do so successfully, teams must integrate, influence and lead at any level of joint warfare. Innovation should be something that everybody's looking on how to be better in the Air Force. It doesn't matter what rank you are. Everybody has great ideas. The youngest airman in our section may already have a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, or as I've seen, even a PhD. I don't know if I'm saying the same thing. These young people are very innovative. We need to give them the opportunity to open their minds up in the space so that they can bring these ideas forward. Going through ALS and then finally putting the stripe on, I took some time to think back how was I supervised, what kind of supervisor am I going to be, that kind of thing, and I kind of picked a part and picked out all the things I liked, all the things I didn't like. Once I had my airman, I knew exactly, I just sent him down day one, what are you doing with your life? Whether you're four-year, whether you're a career, whether you're six-year, especially if your plan's already get out, my number one thing is what are you going to walk away with that you didn't come in with? The answer to that question is probably the most critical one to airman transitioning at the end of their careers. I extend my personal thanks and gratitude to you on the occasion of your retirement. The lifespan of an airman allows for frequent opportunities for progression and self-improvement, though their service will eventually come to an end. The Air Force is still committed to supporting departing members during transitions. I'm proud to be an airman. And when I talk about being an airman, I'm an airman for life. So I spent almost 31 years in the Air Force. And when I retired, I didn't quit being an airman. I presently am on the board for Air University. That's a great experience to still look at PME opportunities for officers being enlisted. I'm also on a special committee for the Secretary of Defense called DAC iPad Defense Advisory Committee. So the experiences I had in the Air Force helped me tremendously in getting job opportunities and to do great things that are going to help not only our Air Force, but all people who serve wearing the cloth of our nation. Plus, when we retire, like I said, we're still airmen, we're still also recruiters. Because everywhere we go, people are going to say, weren't you in the Air Force? Yes, I was. And how was that time in the Air Force? Let me tell you about it.