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Show HILL TOP TIMES Page 10 June 18, 1982 Mound soil's codd ho Dudleir pyirsySfi off By Gen. James P. Mullins In fact, look at the great inventors Commander, Air Force Logistics Command For more than 200 years, Americans have defended their freedom and advanced the quality of their lives by exploiting an advantage peculiar to open societies and systems. natural resources our vast Certainly have helped, but they alone did not free-enterpri- se suffice.. Certainly our courage and dedication have been important, but these alone did not keep us free and ensure progress. "Just take a look at which countries have produced most of the great modern innovations." What has served our republic for more than two centuries is our knack for innovation, our ability to pursue ex-- , cellence and thereby cope with the whole range of life's difficult challenges. In fact, invention is the hallmark of a free society, the result of the unrestrained, natural human urge to . oircollemice achieve. Just take a look at which countries have produced most of the great modern innovations. Look at the type of social systems that have given birth to so many ideas that have revolutionary ideas of the human history. course changed Antibiotics came from Louis Pasteur of France; the electric generator came from Michael Faraday of England; the incandescent lamp from Thomas Edison of the United States. the Isaac Newtons, James Maxwells, Benjamin Franklins, or George Eastmans. Most were products of free societies; most demonstrated what man can do if allowed to pursue excellence in and uninhibited enan unbridled : vironment. As in the past, our free democratic system is, without doubt, our greatest strength today. But we must remember what it is about this system that entourages human achievement. We must recognize that America is not the great nation it is because of some special genius we have for creativity. Rather, this country is great because " of the free exchange of information it allows, the thrill of solving difficult problems it provides, and the personal fulfillment each of us can gain from our individual pursuit of excellence. The military, like the society it protects, relies heavily on this system that has produced so much. In fact, our security as a nation depends directly on our creativity and productivity. Consequently, it's vitally important that we constantly guard against a decline in the quality of our effort or in the excellence we achieve. We must take great care not to fall prey to mind sets that tend to guard against all risk, that tend to blunt the rewards for success in order to prevent the pain of failure. "I'm convinced that. Air Force Logistics Command is made capable, dedicated professionals. . ." up of - S " v Thomas Edison's first invention was an unqualified failure. When he came out with his voting machine in the 1860s, he took the risk that few people would be interested in it. And at that time, few were. But just as he had the freedom to fail, so he had the freedom and incentive to succeed. In fact, it was this pursuit of excellence that led to the light bulb, phonograph, and more than 300 patents over a four-yeperiod. Edison never slowed in his pursuit of innovation; he never called off his search for a "better way of doing things." And in that regard, he truly represents our country's natural affinity for quality and excellence. For those of us in the military, it's important that we keep in mind what the nature of our business means in terms of quality and excellence. For us, quality equates directly to combat '' - encourage everyone in this command to respond to their normal human urge to excel. . ." "I decrease to dangerously low levels? Or have we accepted the "reality" of less than fully qualified people? What about failure rates in our systems? Are we still living with rates that might have been acceptable when system costs were lower? Are these failure rates still acceptable today? And what about our quality control programs? . Has quality really been in control, or has it been controlled? And just what effect does this have on the excellence of our fighting force? Considering the business we're in, and the stakes that are on the line, clearly we must pursue excellence, not the image of excellence. We cannot afford to compromise when such compromises can cost us the combat capability we need to defend our way of life. We must not accept less than the best; we dare not give up our pursuit ar capability. And combat capability equates directly to this nation's remaining free and secure in an increasingly hostile environment. I'm convinced . that Air Force Logistics Command is made up of capable, dedicated professionals people who know how to get the job done and who know how to meet the standards of excellence, standards so much, a part of our national spirit. of excellence. have the capability and opportunity to do a great deal for our country with the resources and talent we have here in AFLC. But to do so, we must risk thinking in new ways; we must allow ourselves to take those chances inherent 'in any creative and innovative venture. I encourage everyone in this command to respond to their normal human and urge to excel, to seek our implement useful innovation wherever possible, to work to escape from the dysfunctional mind sets of the past, and to use. the new management initiatives like meaningful measures of merit to help channel this command's energies and resources in the best possible direction. In the final analysis, you must be your own toughest critic; you must demand of yourselves the highest possible quality. And above all else, you the normal, must pursue excellence healthy urge of any dedicated and We "We must guard against selling ourselves short. 1 i I !' i i i i i i i n i i i i . i ii i I I ; f i ';" f M M i . I I ( (I i U J I J ." But in this world, it's important that we constantly ask ourselves if the standards that have evolved over recent years truly reflect our talents and capabilities. We must guard against selling ourselves short, setting goals well below what we're capable of producing, following the normal human tendency of avoiding the risk of failure, or trying to ensure the image of success. For example, have we asked ourselves if our readiness indicators are "green" because we're truly ready to go to war, or are we simply living with levels of readiness of a less challenging era? Similarly, have we manned our units with enough good people, or have we allowed manning authorizations to - i 1i- t ever-changi- - new-idea- ng capable professional. s That's the essential ingredient for the continued survival of our democracy. (LOGNEWS) 4 4 |