Chief’s Corner - week of June 5

SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- A must read

On May 8, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III published Air force Instruction 1-2, "Commander's Responsibilities." The AFI is intended as an initial feedback for commanders throughout the Air Force. While the intent of the AFI is for commanders, every Air Force member should take a few minutes to read it. First, it is important to know what is expected of your commander and how you can help them achieve overall mission success. Second, there are several items throughout the AFI that apply to all Air Force members and similar to AFI 1-1 Air Force Standards. It serves as good reminder of what is expected from all of us.

I highly encourage you to pay particular attention to paragraph 3.2, Lead People. This section and most of the content contained within applies to all Air Force members. Most of the words specifically are addressing commanders but if you take a deeper look, most of the action required to fulfill the tasks apply to every Airman whether it is directly or indirectly. For instance, 3.2.1 talks about communication and how "Commanders must develop a two-way vertical and lateral communication system." Every Airman is a part of that two-way communication system and it is every Airman's responsibility to assist their commander in achieving the goal of effective communication in the unit. This is just one example of how the AFI applies to all Airmen and you will find many more upon reading it.