THREE CAPES: MISSION, MUTUAL SUPPORT, FLIGHT DISCIPLINE. Words presented for University of Kansas ROTC Joint Military Ball, 19 November 2010

Who here tonight has heard of General Douglas MacArthur?

How about General Ronald Fogleman?

Gen Douglas MacArthur was one of our greatest leaders in American history. And although he was sometimes a contentious figure, General MacArthurs's thoughts, ideas, and leadership have made tremendous impact on my life. During the year when I was a ‘Firstie’ or a senior at the United States Air Force Academy, I experienced pivotal a turning point in my officership when I read a book called “A Soldier Speaks” – the complete works and speeches of Douglas MacArthur.

Until the day I found that book, I was completely focused on becoming a fighter pilot- had been since age Seven… had oriented everything in my life to that point on becoming a pilot: Boy Scouts, athletics, academics- and for the first three years of my time in school at the Air Force Academy, getting to pilot training was everything to me.

But one fall day, on the 6th floor of the library, I was there for a completely different purpose, and happened upon this book on the bottom shelf there – and for some reason I felt compelled to pull it out and open it up. Three hours later, I realized I was still sitting on that floor, reading this book, as I finished the last section – MacArthur’s Duty Honor Country farewell speech at West Point in 1963. Although I’d heard it before, something about taking those words in at that point in time, fundamentally changed me- and I began to think of myself as an Officer first, and a pilot-wannabe – second. And I have been that way ever since. This was a significant emotional event for me.

Duty Honor Country...is a motto, which today, is central to West Point - cadets wear on their shirts, it is visible throughout the campus. And it exists there because a man named Col Larned, an officer at West Point in 1898, led a committee which selected those three words to symbolize the national character of the school, because writings by the earliest West Point Superintendants, professors, and graduates were permeated with those three words. “Duty Honor Country”, however, goes far beyond the walls of West Point – in fact, so many general officers in both the Army and the early Air Force were graduates of West Point, that these three concepts became fundamental to our collective DNA as military officers. They shaped our values from the earliest of days, and they continue to guide us today.

And from that day on the 6th Floor of the Air Force Academy Library, they have shaped me.

So I went on to successfully complete pilot training at Columbus Mississippi, and thankfully became a T-38 Instructor Pilot – But, I still desperately wanted to remain competitive for a fighter assignment, so…I began to deliberately observe where my fellow officers found themselves in trouble:

Not putting students first - putting self interests first instead…
Not looking out for each other habitually in the air and on the ground
Not following rules and regulations - safety violations, etc

After a few years, I became a Flight Commander – had a chance to lead a team of instructors teaching 15 students to fly the T-38 – so for the first time, I had the opportunity to lead other officers by putting these observations into focus, which for me as a young Captain was a golden leadership opportunity. I developed what I then called the EAGLE Flight ‘BIG THREE'

Students First
Mutual Support
Flight Discipline

Well, at about that same time in 1995, then Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen Fogleman – a man I deeply respect, put forward our Air Force Core Values.

Can anyone here tell me what our Air Force core values are?

That’s right- Integrity – Service – Excellence…

Now, as you might imagine, some officers were cynical at the time about these– people in their early twenties tend to be cynical that way sometimes.

I, for some reason, wasn’t….I looked at these and said, “Hey, wait a minute – this guy’s on to something here-” I really identified with Gen Fogleman and with those values in particular-

They spoke clearly to me, because the instant I saw them, I realized they represented an interim step between Duty Honor Country realization from my Cadet days, and my own, personally-observed Big Three:

Duty - Excellence - Mission
Honor - Integrity First - Flight Discipline
Country - Service Before Self - Mutual Support

After an assignment to the Pentagon as an intern, I finally got my chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of flying fighters at Seymour Johnson in my hometown in North Carolina. And growing up in a new world of flying fighters – I realized that my ‘Big Three’ was valid there, too! – I began to understand that Mission Mutual Support and Flight Discipline, form the foundation for success in any organization.

They are broad enough to encompass the profession of arms at any level- yet they are focused enough to hang your hat on – and they work for any unit.
Those squadrons and those officers who live them - excel in combat – And those commanders and those organizations who ignore them- ultimately risk failure at the mission in one way or another.

So tonight- let's discuss, as emphatically as we can, a combat perspective on these three themes: Mission- Mutual Support -and Flight Discipline.

Mission :
The Mission is Everything – it is the reason we exist - We are the United States Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines…because our nation needs us to operate in air/space/cyberspace/land and sea - to defend our survival and our nation’s vital interests. The mission is Not Optional, our mission will always remain a critical component of our nation's welfare.

So what's your mission? How do You fit into this picture today?
What are your Distractions? What keeps us from doing the mission?
Fog -Friction -Weather -confusion -communication -enemy -maintenance -parts -training -initiative -aggressiveness -laziness? TV? A Party before a test?

During preparations for our squadron’s recent combat deployment to Afghanistan- shortages of properly equipped jets (targeting pods), higher headquarters inspections, a maintenance stand down (no flying for a month because an F-15 crashed for an unknown reason), among other things - all served to distract us from the mission of preparing for Afghanistan combat.

But the thing which kept our officers focused during these distractions- was leaders at all levels of our squadron working to find solutions – A climate of initiative fostered by leadership.
They built a climate of initiative/comfort/aggressiveness/discipline/creativity
They Overcame the distractions to our unit with hard work and creativity

When you are a commander one day, your mission will be to take care of your people, so they accomplish the mission with hard work and creativity. But today, YOUR mission - ought to be to continually develop yourself - with hard work and creativity, here at KU into the very best officer and leader you can be .

If you can do this, you will always excel at leadership in your unit's mission.
Your job now- is to chart a course so that you can become the best leader and the best developing commander you can be - at any given point along the way- recognizing that the process of doing so never ends...

What's keeping you from that mission now? What distractions are you facing?
Find a way to burn through those, so you can focus on the mission.
Mutual Support

Airmen take care of Airmen – Soldiers take care of Soldiers, Sailors and Marines likewise. In truth, however – we all take care of each other. The fight we live today in Afghanistan is the most joint of fights we’ve ever experienced and we can expect more of the same in the future. Indeed, we have the capacity to make it so – because success in any future combat will require mutual support among us all – every service – because no one service brings all the tools to the table. We share that responsibility equally, across all services.

Everything we do is a team sport. Our JTACs live this reality every day, calling in airpower in support of troops under fire. And we all take joy in each other’s successes and in their performance – because we know that we all work together to generate that success.
We look out for our teammates – by fostering a climate of mutual support in the air, on the sea, and on the ground.

Joint warfare is team warfare -

At its core, Joint warfare means mutual support. In the Air – In the fighter business – we always fly as a two-ship – we always check each other's six, we back each other up during attacks on the enemy. With this in mind, as a fighter squadron commander, on principle, we would very rarely fly single ship without making sure that jet had specifically-designated mutual support from another two-ship flying nearby. Mutual support doesn’t just happen – you have to plan it. It must be fundamental to who we are, and we must set that tone as officers.

Why? Because two brains are better than one, more people thinking are better than one, as long as the leader cuts through group-think. But it requires subordinates empowered and encouraged to speak up or act at the right times.

Mutual Support saves lives.

In fighters, (and I know it is the same in ground combat or on the sea) - just as in life – we have to know when to pipe up. Nobody wants to be a squeaky wheel - but when appropriate - we use brevity, we are timely, respectful - and we never watch a bad situation develop without working to stop it.

We anticipate trouble - and then we act aggressively to counter it.
Sometimes it’s with three simple words: “Knock It Off.”

But this doesn’t just happen operationally. Mutual support is a critical element of who we are as officers - all the time. On the ground, here today for many of us - Alcohol related incidents remain the biggest threat – both to safety, and to our careers.

Mutual Support is always critical.
So- we take care of each other - but not at the expense of our integrity - Teamwork doesn't mean we get to lie, cheat, or steal.
We must always know where the line is.

Which leads me to my final point:

Flight Discipline
Do the thing right. …and Do the right thing.

Many folks in fighter aviation focus really hard on doing the thing right - flying perfect position - beating other squadrons in bombing competitions… and in combat: shacking the target to get flawless effects against the enemy. And Rightly so – this is our business- and our business is precision – Precision in combat requires our sharpest focus on the details.

But flight discipline (and for this audience it could be boat discipline, or platoon discipline, or just ‘job’ discipline if you are a maintainer or a personnelist, etc) means much more than just doing the Thing, Right.

It's about doing the Right Thing.

This is as much an admonition to avoid temptation as it is to develop our character. Doing the Right Thing is a daily struggle with constant setbacks -
Doing the right thing is hard! I have fallen short of it many times, and I know everyone here has too, because I know that none of us are perfect.
But far too many examples exist of aviators, or sailors, or maintainers, etc - breaking rules- maybe to show off, or to cut corners, or to just be plain lazy.

The problem is that in our profession - the consequences of these failures in discipline are massive, because we are entrusted by our nation with such immensely destructive potential. As officers, especially, we have been given a sacred trust - to follow the rules given to us in a disciplined way.

So when an officer violates the principles of flight discipline, it's not just we who are affected – it’s our whole service. When we fall into the temptation of breaking flight discipline rules, we risk marring a reputation - not only for ourselves - but for our unit, our community- maybe even the military as a whole- depending on how bad the consequences are.

Sometimes, especially when we are young, it is immensely difficult to resist doing exactly the wrong thing- there is sometimes a subculture in units which facilitates this- I certainly observed this when I was young. When we see this, we must recognize it for what it is - a threat to the character of the whole unit. It is a movement most often led by bullies. You will know it when you see it. And You can stop it.

As an F-15E operations officer - we used a phrase borrowed from Gen Keys, former commander of Air Combat Command - "Whenever you start to feel like doing something stupid in the jet...imagine my face... floating in your HUD (Head’s Up Display)...watching you do it ...and picture the consequences." It worked pretty well! When you are the leader, your tone, more than anything else, is what shapes that unit. As leaders - we hold immense influence.

It’s really all about trust. We must trust each other to do what is expected. Commanders must trust subordinates to conduct themselves in a disciplined way Subordinates must trust their commanders. Indeed, our nation trusts us to do the right thing- always. And we must stay worthy of that trust.

So when we see a discipline violation, and we will… - What do we do about it? It’s pretty simple: We say the words, "Knock it off" right then. Then, later, after the mission, we debrief it. We continuously learn from each other. And move on. Discipline is foundational to the professional conduct that animates our service.

There is another important element of doing the thing right - and that is Decisiveness - knowing when to act, and having initiative & judgment to do so. As a young cadet, wanting desperately to be a fighter pilot – I went to his office to ask an old, crusty (to me) Major- our ‘Assistant Group Air Officer Commanding’ at the time…."Sir..how do you succeed in pilot training?”.

..his answer:

“DECIDE. Put the gear down. Turn - left or right - just TURN – don’t ask; just do it.”

Not deciding is a decision in itself – you must be aggressive and not wait to be told. ...Years later, I observed this truth personally when teaching students to fly jets–Those who became great pilots didn't necessarily have the best hands - they had the best attitudes – they had a mindset of self-starting decisiveness, coupled with good judgment and great timing. This applies not only to the tactical aspects of doing our jobs, but also in the timing of our decisions to do the right things.

Another commander had a useful philosophy on timing:

Gen Holmes would say, "JJ, I will make no decision before it's (its) time" –

We have to know when we have turning room, we must know exactly when that decision point is- and not decide too soon, prematurely. But when that time does come – we DECIDE and we EXECUTE aggressively, without hesitation.

There is nothing worse than an indecisive officer.
Except an immoral one…

Which brings me to the most important element of flight discipline – which is really to Do the Right Thing - from a moral standpoint - By this, I really mean something far beyond following rules and regulations correctly. In fact, doing the Right Thing may, on very rare occasions, actually cause us to deviate from established rules and norms, or break a regulation, if there is a overwhelming reason to do so. Sometimes the right thing isn't clear.

This is not something we prepare for specifically, it's something we build on every day we’re alive, and then at some critical point - and in our world - this can mean life or death to friends or enemies - When our whole life experience tells us choice “A” is 'right' and choice 'B' is wrong - we owe it to ourselves, to our service, and to our country- to do the right thing.

I have personal experiences where doing the right thing in combat meant making very difficult decisions- ones I am proud I made. On the other hand, I also have made personal decisions where, in hindsight, I now know I chose wrongly- and I have learned from those by forcing myself to face up to them - which in itself is a very difficult decision.

Life is a constant learning process.

You will likely not be rewarded for doing what you think is the Right Thing. Sometimes, what you do will be viewed as wrong. Sometimes it is personally painful – in fact, many times it is. You do it anyway. You make decisions like this because to look at yourself in the mirror- with self-respect and dignity- always trumps accolades, or praises, or honors you may- or may not get -from others. We learn most from things only we know we didn't do right, and often- we appreciate most those things only we know we did do right- Integrity, is to be able to do those things, and live with the outcomes, accepting whatever comes, good or bad, because we knew, when we did them, that they were the right things to do. And the life of a truly great man or woman is a life made by continuous improvement in this perpetual process of 'right' decision-making.

Our life-saving split-second decisions are based on a lifetime of self-reflection.
Flight Discipline, in its highest form, is about doing the Right Thing.

The concepts I have outlined tonight - Mission, Mutual Support, and Flight Discipline - are critical to our success as officers in any service – I personally know I have been most effective when I have kept these foremost in mind.

So, in closing, I ask you to consider these ideas, in light of Gen MacArthur's Duty Honor Country, and in light of our Air Force’s Core Values- identified by General Fogleman: Integrity First , Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do - and see if ‘Mission, Mutual Support, and Flight Discipline’- might have a place in your own career - and in your own life. And if you like - improve on them - do what's right for you - but find a way to communicate these fundamental truths to others- You will lead Them towards long careers of selfless service.