Base pride and ownership Published Nov. 4, 2008 By Lt. Col. Edward Oshiba 375th Civil Engineer Squadron commander SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- A few weeks ago, as I was walking through the security checkpoint at St. Louis Lambert Field, a TSA security guard stopped me and started raving about the Scott Air Show that he attended back in September. Yes, he excitedly talked about the Thunderbirds and other aircraft demonstrations. But he also mentioned how well maintained the base looked despite the thousands of visitors we had over those two days. He said it was good to see how much pride we had in our base and how the Air Force seemed to be good stewards of the taxpayers' money. I thanked him for his kind words, and as we parted, he told me how much he was looking forward to next year's air show. In my role as the base civil engineer, the guard's comments filled me with pride--after all, grounds maintenance and refuse removal are amongst the functions that civil engineers are responsible for. However, base appearance is not just a "CE" thing--it's everyone's responsibility. We should all be equally proud of base appearance and have a sense of ownership. Ownership means many things to many people. But the "ownership" I'm talking about here is taking pride in where we work, live and play, and what we do. Ownership means picking up that piece of trash you notice on the side of the road, in the parking lot or as you walk in the front door of your office. It means picking up that empty water bottle or plastic bag as you jog along our running trail. The Air Force calls this "service before self." I call it "ownership." I recently read a book called "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. In his book, Gladwell proposes that behaviors spread just like viruses, and oftentimes, little changes can have dramatic effects. One of his examples deals with the remarkable drop in violent crime in New York City in the mid-1990s. He theorizes that the decrease can be traced, in part, to New York's aggressive campaign to remove graffiti from subway cars, cracking down on people who leaped over the turnstiles without paying and concentrating on seemingly petty crimes. In other words, by simply changing their focus, he believes that New York City was able to experience double-digit decreases in violent crime. All it took was modest changes--changes which increased pride and ownership. Ownership can also apply to what we do every day. It means being able to look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and saying "I gave my best," no matter how daunting the task. It means having enough pride in your work that you are not ashamed to tell the world, "I did this today." It means spending the extra time to get the job done right the first time. The Air Force calls this "excellence in all we do." I call it "ownership." Finally, ownership also extends to how we mentor and develop our subordinates. Our people get the mission done--we must do all we can to retain, preserve and develop this precious resource. Remember--the men and women of our military are the treasures of our nation. As leaders, we are empowered and entrusted with the responsibility to safeguard the sons and daughters of our country. Each of us--enlisted, officers, civilians--play a part in the development and nurturing of our team. Let's not forget our role and continue to look for ways to improve our team. The Air Force calls this "leadership." I call it "ownership." We simply cannot fail in this, as the stakes are too high. We live in a time of dwindling resources and increasing demands. Taking ownership and pride in all we do will go a long way in making the best use of those limited resources and in meeting the demands of an ever-changing mission. Our nation demands that of us and I have no doubt that through your ownership and pride, JTF Scott will continue to be Air Mobility Command's Showcase Wing.