Follow the six Ts

  • Published
  • By Col. Leonard Kosinski
  • 62nd Airlift Wing commander
It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the commander of the 62nd Airlift Wing. I have witnessed firsthand your outstanding performance and attitudes over this first month and a half of command. I know this has been a summer of transition with changes of command for senior leadership throughout Joint Base Lewis-McChord.  I appreciate the efforts of all to stay focused on executing our important missions and developing and taking care of Airmen and their families. I would like to briefly share some important areas I would like you to consider as leaders in our great Air Force.

While we all can get very focused on the immediate tasks at hand, it helps to be able to have a checklist, or a reminder to ensure that we are prioritizing our time, efforts, resources and mental talents toward common goals for the good of our unit, our Air Force, our families and our fellow Airmen. As a pilot learning how to fly an instrument approach in challenging and dynamic environments, there is a helpful reminder called the "Six Ts -- time, turn, throttles, twist, track, talk." Any one of these steps may seem basic and common sense, but if you don't accomplish all of them in a short period of time, it could result in suboptimal performance or sometimes even have dangerous results. I would like you to consider the following Six Ts in your daily tasks, leadership, prioritization and relationships.

1. Teamwork.  Relationships are very important and we need to build connections with our coworkers and other units across JBLM. While individual excellence is definitely a good thing, we cannot successfully accomplish our missions without a team effort. Ultimately, we are graded on how well we can work and execute the mission together.

2. Trust.  As Airmen, we have a unique and sacred bond, and an incredible responsibility in supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States. I trust you to execute the mission, take care of each other, and always do the right thing. This is a two-way trust since I also need you to trust me and your leadership with honest feedback and information. We trust that you will give us the good and bad news. We will listen and we will support you and your efforts.

3. Talent.  As our Air Force gets leaner and as the security environment becomes more challenging, we need to deliberately develop our replacements and future leaders. To retain our talented and innovative Airmen we need to challenge and develop them, create a culture of dignity and respect, and enable a work-life balance that can keep them and their families happy to continue to serve our great nation.

4. Treasure.  We are all entrusted with some of our nation's greatest treasure:  talented people, critical programs, valuable facilities, and technically advanced equipment, such as the mighty Boeing C-17A Globemaster III. We need to be good stewards of these critical resources and look for ways to innovate and utilize them most efficiently and effectively in support of our mission.

5. Time Management.  One of the most important resources is our time. We must be disciplined and respect the time of our Airmen. Maintaining balance in professional, personal, fitness, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives is very important. Please make time for yourselves and your families. Work hard and work smart so you can focus on the priorities and look for areas where we can eliminate non-value added tasks and processes.

6. Treat others with dignity and respect.  We need to cultivate this culture of dignity and respect (CODAR) and not accept anything less. I want everyone to look forward to going to their work centers and working together with their Air Force and joint team. Never suffer in silence. Demand and protect our Air Force culture and values!

These points should not be new to many of you reading this and I ask you to work to develop this thinking in all our Airmen.

Thank you for all you do.