Teamwork: The Key to Success

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Michael LePage
  • 17th Training Support Squadron Commander
As the 17th Training Group prepares for the upcoming 2nd Air Force standardization and evaluation inspection, we are in a full court press preparing to show the inspectors how proud we are of accomplishing our training mission. Since our last inspection in Spring 2009, we have committed ourselves to maintaining "excellence" in all of our programs. This goal, of course, is easier said than done. Our next inspection is just around the corner and it takes an entire team effort to prepare for this challenging, but achievable milestone. To guarantee our success, it's apparent that working together and stressing the importance of teamwork is essential.

It goes without saying that we all need to display professionalism, a positive attitude and a sense of urgency, but without teamwork we will not achieve our goal of knocking the inspection results out of the park.

There's a reason why all of our key programs have a primary program manager and an alternate program manager assigned. For all the "old hats" who have been through several inspections, they know that a good alternate on a program is just as vital as a strong primary to guarantee success. Our mission does not sleep, but we are all human and must occasionally take a break. If we happen to be the primary manager of a program, we quickly recognize that we depend on our alternate to keep the program running smoothly in our absence. In the eyes of inspection teams, an alternate is treated equal to a primary program manager and might even be the one to get inspected.

When preparing for any major event, a good Wingman is essential. There are many examples, but two come to mind. The first is the importance of our coalition partners in our current Overseas Contingency Operations. We join together as one team and take the fight to the enemy in their own backyard. For those who have deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq, you've seen this first hand. At Goodfellow, we have the privilege of welcoming coalition partners to our International Intelligence Applications Officers Course. During the three months each international officer spends with us, we foster relationships and build long-lasting partnerships that could one day be battle tested when we join together in the war on terror.

Another example is relying on fellow Wingmen to help prepare us to excel in our fitness preparation. Just as we will be measured in our 2nd AF inspection, we are measured every six months when we take our fitness test. Although the fitness test is completed individually, the hard work and preparation before the test is done with our fellow Wingmen.

To the men and women of the 17th TRG, remember the importance of teamwork as we prepare to exceed all expectations during the 2nd AF inspection. Work hard with your fellow Wingmen and we will excel in all we do!