7 Jul 2010

Lorenz on Leadership -- The intellectual resource

Today, we are approaching nine years of sustained combat operations. Many could even argue that our Air Force has been involved in continuous combat operations since the original Gulf War in 1991. Even more challenging, today's combat operations are being conducted while the rest of the nation fights its way through a recession, making resources

1 Jul 2010

Service before Self, not Service instead of Self

This is not your father's military. We are constantly asking more and more from the great men and women that have volunteered their service in the defense of our great country. We ask Airmen to give up freedoms and sacrifice time and energy from family. Actually, we demand it of them. It is part of our culture and is one of our core values. It's

15 Jun 2010

Lorenz on Leadership: The Study of Leadership

Everyone has hobbies. Some people like to work in the yard, while others paint, fish or travel. Hobbies are those things that entertain us when we need an escape, a chance to unwind. For me, I've always found leadership, and its associated principles, to be intriguing - studying leadership is my hobby. I am drawn to leadership for many reasons.

11 May 2010

Lorenz on Leadership -- Sustaining a wingman culture

On April 20, a 22-year-old man with a history of violence walked into a bookstore in Wichita Falls, Texas, and started shooting. He wounded four women, then drove to a bar and killed an employee outside before he drove home and took his own life. This tragedy sounds like so many we hear about on the news each and every night. We've almost become

30 Apr 2010

Leading Airmen through force management

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force recently announced that our service must reduce its personnel end strength to meet congressionally-mandated limits. Air Force retention is currently at a 15-year high, which is a testament to the tremendous dedication of our Airmen serving during a time of unprecedented deployments. However, the high retention

30 Apr 2010

Passion and Perseverance

Successful leaders exhibit many different characteristics and qualities. I want to share some thoughts on two important characteristics that have great impact on a person's life: passion and perseverance.Passion. It is an integral part of leadership. Passion defines the type of leader you are and those things in life on which you effortlessly spend

15 Apr 2010

The Sponge Principle

During the 25 years I spent on active duty in this wonderful Air Force, and even now as a civilian, I have found one enduring principle that continues to override all others. I call it "The Sponge Principle." It applies to everyone, young and old, Airman Basic to General. By following it, you keep yourself open to new experiences and knowledge.I

15 Apr 2010

Lorenz on Leadership – Motivation

These are challenging times for our Air Force. We have been engaged in combat operations since 1990 and are balancing limited resources against an aggressive operations tempo. We are once again adjusting to maintain our authorized end strength while juggling priorities within a leveling budget. Many of our aircraft are beyond expected service lives

26 Mar 2010

A 'Commitment to Caring' with our Air Force Assistance Fund

Given the current economic climate, it goes without saying that many people are making difficult decisions, cutting back on spending and foregoing anything but the bare essentials. That can mean hard choices when considering making charitable donations. If you're a regular or occasional contributor to good causes, you might be seriously curtailing

26 Mar 2010

Writing Women into History: Ms. Christine Prewitt, Chief Shelia Knox

"Writing Women Back into History," the theme of this year's Women's History Month, affords us an opportunity to focus on individuals who are currently making history at Maxwell-Gunter. Two of these, Ms. Christine Prewitt, deputy commander of the 42nd Mission Support Group, and Chief Shelia Knox, superintendent for the 42nd MSG, make an exceptional