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Show Hilltop Times April 4, 2002 Commentary "Aim High' slogan still inspires positive attitude by Senior Master Sgt. Tim Gordon Cf Integration Division superintendent Space and Ci Systems Directorate Many of us have heard or seen catchy slogans on television and local billboards advertising a particular product. However, one slogan that is more than catchy is the Air Force's previous recruiting slogan, "Aim High." "Aim High" promotes a positive mindset to achieve any kind of success. The "Aim High" slogan embodies the true essence of setting high expectations for yourself. Having an "Aim High" attitude will open doors to greater opportunities and enable you to achieve success in a variety of activities. Your ability to walk into any given situation with an "Aim High" attitude will make seemingly impossible and unappealing tasks more plausible. Over the course of my nearly of active duty service, I have witnessed many leaders and followers who the "Aim High" attitude. They were the ones against all odds saying, "we can and we will find a way to accomplish the task" ... and they did! They were sometimes the lone warriors against the naysayers, taking on the reins of command (airman basic to general). Having an "Aim High" attitude will help you set goals on where you want to be in the future. Whether your goals are professional, personal or community related, setting goals remains the essential foundation to achieving any 22-yea- rs pos-ses- es i Li $zfc L.J r3 Ubi'J & kind of success. I've learned that when you set goals, you must focus on those goals daily, weekly and monthly. You must have a dogged determination on the trail, willing not to listen to naysayers or seek refuge in your ego based on past successes or worthy praises. Stay focused and don't engage in inappropriate activities that will cause derailment of your goals, or take you goal-seekin- g off-cours- e. In Mack R. Douglas' book, "Making A Habit of Success," he suggests the following to achieve success: Pay the price. Results are directly proportionate to the effort we put forth. We must understand emotionally that as we sow so do we reap. .Can you practice imagination? Can you see yourself achieving every bit of the goal you've attempted? Practice courage. Talk positively on your goals. Refuse to believe that there is any circumstance suf ficient to its defeat. Save 10 percent of what you earn. Action. The achievement of this program of success demands immediate dynamic action. This then is the example of goals. Being a junior enlisted person may present uncommon challenges compared to your civilian counterparts at times. With a myriad of career decisions to make, from training obligations to periodic deployments, sometimes goal accomplishments may look very bleak. Remember this, you aren't the first person nor will you be the last, who will speculate about achieving success in their Air Force career. Normally, help is right around the corner in your supervisor's office, your superintendent, the first sergeant, and others close by willing to assist you. Take advantage of the resources you have available, seek out the winners and leaders in your organization and on base. If they did it, you can too. I will tell you now, it's going to be tough and difficult at times trying to "Aim High." Sometimes your goals may not materialize when you expect them to, but hold on and don't quit. If you get down, it's okay ... get mad, then get over it and press on! Get back in the saddle, keep your head up and continue to Aim High! Casual chitchat could compromise classified conditions by Christine Saalbach our responsibility as members of the United States Department of Defense. Let me tell you about an incident that happened recently at a hotel bar in Addison, Texas, a suburb V of Dallas. Four men were sitting next to me. All four said things that made it obvious to me they were commercial airline pilots. I tuned in to their conversation. One man was a reservist who was talking about the com' bat capabilities he had observed while flying the (Her C7 Air Force Personnel Center Operations Security manager RANDOLPH AFB, Texas (AFPN) John Wayne used to say, "Talk low. Talk slow. Don't say too much." That is good advice in today's military environment as we conduct operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle. It is smart to limit what we say and who we say it to. It is good OPSEC, or operations security. President George W. Bush, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have stated quite clearly, this war on terrorism will be like no other. It is not only a war that includes combat, but also a conflict that includes information. OPSEC is a process of denying information to our enemies that is any information, positive or negative, classified or unclassified. It includes casual chitchat with the cashier at the department store, conversations at restaurants and clubs, or news clippings sent to friends and family via mail or Since the tragedies of Sept. 11, I'm sure your friends and relatives have phoned or you, like mine have contacted me. One college friend, who knows I go to the Pentagon on occato tell me things he'd wanted to say to sion, sent me an me for 30 years. He was that scared for my fragile existence. I would bet some of your relatives and friends called to ask you what you thought about what happened and, knowing that you work for the military, what you think the military ought to do. Here is where OPSEC enters the picture. The first thing to think about is who else is listening to you other than the person you are talking to. Landline phone calls can be monitored, and cell phone and portable phone conver- sations are even easier to monitor. messages can be intercepted, as well. When you are in public, there are other customers around you at the store and other people who can hear what you're saying at a restaurant or club. Who are these people? What are their intentions? Those are questions you can't answer, and that is why you need to practice OPSEC. It is the fine line between freedom of speech and E-m- --i i I "S cules). I sat next to them, feigning disinterest I finally identified myself, and you should have seen the looks on their faces. A little old lady not only knew what a is, but also could tell them they should not be discussing the combat capabilities of an Air Force weapons system in a bar. More recently, an Air Force member sent some friends, via his home an article that appeared on Yahoo entitled, "Report: U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan." He made the subject of the message, "So much for keeping a secret." From his home, he sent the message to two friends and a copy to himself at work. At work, he forwarded the to his branch. That is a violation of OPSEC. This person has attached credibility to the article's contents, whether or not the article's assertion is true that U.S. special forces are indeed on the ground in Afghanistan. The subject line he also implied credibility. put on the This could alert the "bad guys" that this is classified and true information. The fact that this person is an Air Force noncommissioned officer could also indicate to our foes that the information is credible. In this war of information, we must be ever mindful that what we say could be our undoing. What we say to our friends, relatives, acquaintances or the store clerk who asks what we know or think about the current situation could reach enemy ears. The general public looks to the Air Force to defend their country. Let us not lose this war to loose talk or careless paper handling. fX v; en mn'::- - Action Line official records Update for After several applying positions, I've found out nothing had been updated In my records as far as past experience. I'm 22 years retired military with aircraft maintenance experience. When they looked at my records, it showed no experience or anything, so I was passed over. I went through my supervision here and also went to Civilian Personnel and they told me pretty much "sorry." They told me they are now able to update my records so they can be used to apply for future positions. I think I got passed over for quite a few jobs that I might have qualified for. What can I do so I don't miss future opportunities? l GS-1- 1 First, I'd like to apologize to you for not getting your records completely processed in a more timely manner. Second, I'll explain how such delays can happen. Third, I'll explain what can be done to help avoid similar situations in the future, for you, as well as other employees. For newly hired employees, 90 days are permitted to allow coding and inputting information concerning training, education, prior work experience and other data into the Modern Civilian Personnel Data System. This overall process usually involves several personnelists working in different offices. Also during this same time period and beyond, these same records may be needed or used by additional personnelists for updating health or life insurance information, calculating service computation dates, updating veteran's preference entitlements, reviewing or correcting other data, or to review qualifications for placement in other positions. Your records include some of these actions. To process these actions, records are removed from those to be coded with experience. As a result, experience coding may be delayed until the records are returned. While we try very hard to process all records in a timely and accurate manner, sometimes we, by ourselves, are not as successful as desired. This is one reason for the policy that states the personnel office and the employee are both responsible for the accuracy of information contained within civilian personnel records. An employee promotion brief dated Sept. 11, 2001, was provided to you for your review and update as necessary. This brief states that if it isn't returned, the information will be used as printed and any merit promotion consideration will be based on this information. This brief, although it contained no work experience information, wasn't returned to the personnel office by Oct. 11, 2001, as requested. Therefore, we had no reason to believe the information contained wasn't accurate. It was nearly March when you submitted a request for updating your work experience. The request was processed and information entered in the personnel data system on March 4, 2002. It was not possible to update your records between March because the portion of our computer system for updat ing experience wasn't opera1-- 3, Quality Systems for America's Air Force Hilltop Times ! Published by MorMedia, Inc., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with Hill AFB. This commercial enterprise Air Force newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. mil " JWWMHlWH6!BfS and play. When you call Ext. or send on Outlook to "HILL ACTION LINE," your comments will be recorded and staffed through the agency responsible for action. Please give your supervi sor and chain of command the Col. David Beecroft 75th ABW Commander opportunity to work with you in answering questions and solving problems before calling ACTION LINE. This will help me better serve your interests. Items of basewide interest to the Hill workforce will be published in the Hilltop Times. 00 records to insure they contain accurate information. When information changes are necessary, they must be submitted to the Civilian Personnel Office in a timely manner to allow a timely response. For information on the status of experience update requests, call Neil Knudsen at Ext. For information on experience codfor ing newly hired employees, call Judy White at Ext. streamlined our procedures for coding experience of new hires and other employees in to the personnel data system The end result is better tracking of records and greater coding consistency by having fewer personnelists perform this type of duties. It is also strongly encouraged that all permanent employees periodi cally review their official personnel We have Global Power and Reach for America. itary services. Contents of the Hilltop Times are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force. 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"Air Force people building the world's most respected Air and Space Force ilMMnanlMuU ACTION LINE is your 625-430- 0 Hilltop Tims Editorial Staff: Scott Bergren Ma, Shawn Mecham Ma). Gen. Bill Orndorff Gary Boyle, 2nd Lt Garrett Grochowskl, Beth Young Deadlines: Commander, OO-AL- C Director, Public Affairs Editor Staff writers Editorial and "Around the Hill" Items, 3 p.m. Friday, sports articles, 9 a.m. Monday, classified ads, 2 p.m. Tuesday, week of publication. For more Information, call the editor, Ext |