Photo By Kathryn Calvert | Chief Master Sgt. Boston Alexander, 50th Space Wing command chief, addresses the crowd...... read more read more
Chief Master Sgt. Boston Alexander, command chief of the 50th Space Wing, hosted an enlisted and Company Grade Officer call advocating Airmen adopt a champion’s mentality at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, Oct. 10.
He explained this mentality can be achieved through PUSH.
“Champions PUSH – they perform above expectation, are uncompromising in their approach, preparation and execution, they are selfless for the mission and they are humble at what they do,” Alexander said. “Ask yourself, what is your charge? What is your lane? Are you giving it your all? Remember this – your mike is always on, and people are always watching what you do.”
He used retired general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s career as an example.
“He was once a C student who joined the army, went into combat and lost his weapon but later somehow made it to brigadier general,” Alexander said. “When he was a brigadier general, he received a bad performance report – he thought his career was over. But he kept performing, giving his all, and sure enough someone was watching, and he made his next star.
“He would go on to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State and be one of the greatest soldiers of all time,” he concluded.
Alexander shared stories of champions he had growing up, including his grandfather, a childhood mentor he nicknamed “the garbage man” because of his occupation.
“He would say ‘So you want to get to the top huh? Want to achieve great things? You better go get it, no one is going to hand it to you,’’’ Alexander said. “He said, ‘No one should care about your career more than you do, if the sick don’t care why should the doctor care? He with the raw meat must seek the fire.’”
“The garbage man was my greatest mentor, I spent many of my early days with him,” he continued. “By the time I entered the Air Force, he had masterfully shaped my perspective and I realized I had two choices – make it or make it.”
With this year’s increased focus on the ever-evolving space and cyberspace warfighting realms, Alexander emphasized the importance of Schriever AFB’s mission.
“Today, our Air Force provides precise and reliable global vigilance reach and power for the nation – breaking news, space underpins all of that,” he said. “Bottom line, it’s not going down without Schriever Air Force Base.”
Other enlisted leaders, including Chief Master Sgt. Coy Crowe, superintendent with the 50th Operations Group, provided input.
“The first word in the 50th Space Wing mission is evolve,” Crowe said. “We are always looking to evolve in space and cyberspace to remain dominant. Looking toward things like automation, squadron consolidation and how to best utilize our warfighters keeps us on top.”
The last half of the call was open to attendee’s questions.
Crowe was asked what leadership would do about potential manning issues. He and other enlisted leaders cited the base wide iWAR, Innovative Warfighters Advancing Readiness, as a way to propose solutions and create new champions.
“We strive to make our warfighters the best performers possible,” Crowe said “However, I challenge you to propose your ideas through the iWAR initiative, so we can find other ways to better align an operator to his or her particular skillsets.”
Alexander ended the call saying all Schriever Airmen are champions dominating our adversaries.
“Remember, you’re a champion, I’m a champion, we are all champions on this champion team,” he said. “We strive for peace, but rest assured we are ready for war. Victory is our only option.”
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 10.17.2018 10:49 |
| Story ID: | 296741 |
| Location: | COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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