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Show 2A July fIGHTLR COLXTRY 17, 1997 New vice commander joins wong By Airman 1st Class Sara Banda Editor, Fighter Country ,jp88SBaaiiiMM The 388th Fighter Wing has a new ready to help the wing continue its tradition of success. Col. Mark E. Dougherty took the wing position June 23 succeeding Col. Jim Allgood. now retired. Colonel Dougherty comes from Air Force Base. Tucson. Ariz., where he served as Chief of I2th Air Force Standardization and Evaluation. In today's Air Force, wing commanders are tremendously tasked and in many cases this takes them away from the wing, according to Colonel Dougherty. The vice commander then takes on an increased amount of responsibilities. "I think it's an important role filling in for the boss when he's gone." said the colonel. "My job. as I see it. is to not just fill in. but to keep the programs, processes and things the commander likes to emphasize going while he's aone - so that the ivina doesn't ifcl!s&l out.5 There is too much to do with too little time to do it and the boss can't be here for all the decisions the folks in the wing and on base require, hourly. In our information age. if I don't have all the pieces of the puzzle to make an informed 0 er - E-mai- l's By j Force officer and a pilot if I couldn't play baseball for a living. ll Since no one offered me a contract, I joined the Air pro-baseba- er Davis-Month- " 've always wanted to be an Air w an Force." Col. Mark E. Dougherty fcg vice commander decision, then Col. Ron Fly. 388th FW comfax or phone call mander is just an away." Colonel Dougherty arrived the day before the last Phase II exercise and spent 18 hours hard at work the next day. His initial impressions of the base and the people in the 388th FW were outstanding. "Everybody looked the same." said the ; colonel with a smile. ' "'They all had gas masks, helmets and camoflouge fatigues on. so I introduced myself to the same people for hours. "It's fun to be back in a fighter wing that is focused on the mission and on sur viving in a deployed location. That's always a good impression for a guy who grew up doing those kinds of things. It's nice to see that there's still generations of young enlisted people and young officers who have the same energy and enthusiasm to survive and operate and get the mission done in any place in the world under extreme condi- tions." i . r , , : Air Force veteran was born The n AFB. Nov. 18, 1951. at The son of an Air Force pilot. Colonel Dougherty moved with his family "a lot." before he too entered the Air Force in 1973. He received his commission from the ROTC 24-ye- ar Wright-Patterso- at Miami University. Oxford. Ohio. "Since my dad was in the Air Force, brother and I pretty much knew twin my wanted to do since we were five we what years old." said the colonel. "I've always wanted to be an Air Force officer and a pilot if I couldn't play baseball for a living. Since no one offered me a contract. I joined the Air Force." pro-baseb- all Colonel Dougherty and his wife. Suzanne, have two children: Mark and Sammie. "I have a smart wife who takes care of which allows me the freedom children our to do whatever it takes for the greater good of the Air Force." said the colonel. "I've been away from home for eight of the last ten months, so Suzanne's contribution to the Air Force mission in my view is absolutely vital. She was also brought up in an Air Force family, so she knows demands the Air Force places on families. She doesn't like it all the time, but she understands it." Colonel Dougherty has been on base only three weeks, but expects this tour to be his best ever. "I very much look forward to serving with the men and women of the 388th and working shoulder to shoulder with the 75th Air Base Wing and the Hill Air Force Base community." he said. good, bad and ugly Think before punching send button aptvChris Doan t 314th Operations Group, Little Rock AFB COMMENTARY LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE. Ark. ( AFNS) is the new "The Good. The Bad and The Ugly" on the block for the Air Force. has all the attributes this we have enjoyed all these years: it of great western it its has good points: has its bad points: and it has its really ugly, absurd points. is good, it's really great. Gone are the When days of manually typing a memo for record to the commander for an answer to a seemingly simple question. We have the eyes and ears of the commander right at our fingertips. All we have to do is sit down at a computer and type a up question or correspondence for the commander and fire it off. We no longer need to wade through lengthy distribution channels to get our answer. We also have the luxury of spell checking and functions right at our computer. We grammatical-editin- g are even granted the ability of knowing precisely what lime our mail was opened by our recipient. And. probably the best part, we can attach a priority level to our messages, whether it merits it or not. The commander can give us our response just as easily. BANG! The time bandit lies bleeding in the streets while we go about our business protecting the freedom and liberty of this great nation. is a great it'.' thin isn't But. in walks the bad. The bad arrives ready to shoot dow n every advantage the system has brought online. Gone are the personal communication techniques we learned so long ago. We lose the "warm fuzzy" confirmations we get when we talk to a real person and are able to convey the true importance of our message. have permeated the entire The good aspects of Air Force community. Everyone has jumped on the buckboard and realized the true accessibility we have to or subordinates. But this is our superiors, where it truly gets ugly. With so many people on the buckboard. the system is on the verge of upsetting the horses. While it's great that everyone has the ear of the commander at a touch of a button, the problem is that everyone has the ear of the commander. Does anyone remember the term "chain of command?" The system is making this an anachronistic concept. Why pose a question to someone that might not know the answer when we can hear it straight from the horse's mouth? Commanders are slow ly being forced to handle all of the decisions that, in the past, would have been handled at lower levels. Gone are the days when the support staff could weed out the unimportant issues and allow the piGHTERCOUNTRY js published for people like ... Z . .. Name: Senior Airman Davis Munoz . . Job: communications information journeyman Unit: 388th Fighter Wing staff Time in service: 7 12 years Time at Hill AFB: 3 years Family: wife, Lucy, and children: Davis Jr. and Karena Born: Nyack, N.Y. Hobbies: playing guitar, listening to gospel music and camping with his family Most recent accomplishment: receiving a superior performer award Goals: making staff sergeant and pursuing and completing a business administration degree commander to concentrate on the truly important ones. A commander who has to read literally hundreds of messages a day does not have time to attend the important meetings they must attend. But. because they must attend those meetings, they have to handle all of this during other times. If everyone would adhere to the proper chain of command this problem would be somewhat curtailed. The support staff could ensure that only pertinent information and questions were forwarded to the commander and that he was reminded of the important issues at hand. The real question is. "How can we enhance the good while stopping the bad and the ugly?" First, use the chain of command. It isn't lost, and it's there for a reason. as you would a personal Second, think about phone call. If you would not pick up the phone and call this person, then you probably shouldn't be sending your message directly to this person. as your only means of Third, don't rely on communication. It's nice to talk to a human once in a while and know that your concerns are at least given some attention. Last, and this is key. we have to be able to do our jobs regardless of the server's mood. has many good attributes. It can be used wisely while stamping out the bad and the ugly, if we would just think before punching the send button. 388th Fighter Wing Editorial Staff Col. Ron Fly 1st Lt. James R. Wilson Staff Sgt. James A. Rush Staff Sgt. J.C. Woodring Airman 1st Class Sara Banda Commander Chief, Public Affairs NCOIC, Public Affairs Chief, Community Relations Editor, Fighter Country f ilthier Coimrn is a supplement to the Hilltop Times, published b MorMedia. Inc.. a pri ate firm in no a connected ilh the L'.S. Air Force, under eclusi e ritten contract ilh the Ogden Air Logistics Center Public Affairs Office. This commercial enterprise Air Force new spaper is an authorized publication for members of the L'.S. miliur ser ices. Contents of Fiqlner Coimiry sue not necessaril) the official Mew s of. or endorsed b the L'.S. Goxernment. the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force. L'nless otherw ise indicated, all photos are L'.S. Air Force photos. Hlnet Cmmtrx is edited, prepared and pro ided bx the .IKXth Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office. 58X7 D. Ae.. Suite 1.1. Hill AFB L'lah. 84056.5017. 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