Keeping our mission performance edge sharp

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Rodney Billinghurst
  • 62nd Maintenance Group superintendent
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  The mission is really why we're here. Our actions, resources and organizational structure are almost exclusively mission-driven. We're developed, deployed and employed to accomplish the mission. Rightfully, our mission must be the primary consideration behind our planning, decision-making and execution.

As we look out on both our day-to-day requirements and the challenging year in front of us, there's no time like the present to sharpen our mission focus. A great place to start is by refreshing ourselves on the key services or support our unit or section provides to our wing's overall mission. From there, we can look even closer to home, right down to what we personally do for our section and how well we do it.

At this point it's valuable to ask a few questions: How well are we doing our missionessential tasks? Are there mission performance aspects within our own control that we can improve upon? Is our section 100 percent focused and contributing effectively? Are we as individuals totally focused and delivering peak performance? The answers to these basic questions are keys to prioritizing what to do next -- improving important mission activities within our grasp.

At all levels, our own self-analysis and improvement efforts can bolster our effectiveness. This can be simple. Intensify the focus on upgrade training and job knowledge. We can also identify and improve our teamwork toward mission effectiveness through our professional relationships and interaction. Whether we're steering and prioritizing our subordinates' efforts, keeping teammates focused, or supporting the full spirit and intent of our superiors' initiatives, when there's room to improve our mission performance we need to identify it and do it.

As we forge ahead into a demanding year, I encourage you to hone your mission performance edge and while you're at it, take pride in knowing that your focus provides the performance, support and execution behind a vital source of airpower that we're here to deliver -- combat airlift!