GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Col. Andres Nazario, 17th Training Wing commander, kicked off a new way to encourage Airmen and their families. He reminds Airmen to Connect by building a relationship with others, Grow by developing themselves and others, and Go deliver results to the base and community.
In an address to Airmen, Nazario went into more detail about what Connect, Grow and Go means.
Connect: The main connection you can have is the connection as to why you joined the Air Force. Find your “why.” If you have a full understanding of your why, you will always feel connected. Look for ways to connect at the workplace level, at the unit level and then we will do our best to connect with you at the wing level. Through being connected with others, you will have a better understanding of your Wingman and know when they may need your assistance or you may even feel comfortable enough to talk to them about issues.
Grow: When you are connected to others and the mission you feel empowered. You’ll want to grow and continue with your own personal development as well as want to help others with their development. You will accept and encourage self-improvement skills and behaviors since you will have trust in yourself and the Air Force.
Go: Through connecting and growing, you will find a passion, you will find your fire. Once you achieve the first two it is then your responsibility to be active in our base and in our community. Share your passion with others.
We are not all the same. We have folks from all different walks of life, but in this pool of beautiful Airmen diversity there are many with the same interests as you. Through #GoodfellowCares we want to proclaim to everyone that we are a family at Goodfellow, it’s not just a saying, it’s real.
For instance, I don’t get out of my office as much as I used to, and just a few weeks ago I was walking into the one of the dorms and a female Airman saw me and when she did she yelled, “Ms. Donna, I’ve haven’t seen you in forever. I’m so happy to see you!” She then began telling me about how she was almost done with class and how happy she was since she gets to be reunited with her family soon and how excited she was to graduate. I’m sure that Airman didn’t realize it but she made my day. It actually brought me back to when my kids were young and I would pick them up from daycare and they would always run up happy to see me. That is #GoodfellowCares. It’s being happy to see others, wanting to tell people about your happiness and making yourself and others feel good.
It’s as easy as saying hello and giving a smile to someone you don’t know on the troop-walk, sitting down with a co-worker talking about their child’s first touchdown, to more serious issues like talking about the loss of a loved one or a troubled relationship. We are a family at Goodfellow and we all belong to it.