I love the Air Force core values! Not because they are the Air Force’s, but because they are mine. Each of them speaks to the person I strive to be, not just to my role as a military officer. I am impressed with the meaning of the words integrity, service and excellence, and how they were carefully selected. They are specific enough to give direction, but general enough to accommodate almost any situation. I like to talk about them to all the Airmen I encounter. When given the opportunity, I discuss each of the values and what they mean to me, so it should be no surprise that I also want to write about them. Today, I am going to focus on our first core value: integrity first.

Virtually every time I ask an Airman what integrity means, I get the answer “doing what is right, even when no one is watching.” While it is hard to argue with that response, I must admit that I find it less than satisfying. Integrity is a far greater concept than just unobserved personal behaviors. The word comes from the Latin “integer” which means to be whole or intact. Would you buy a car that lacked integrity? Certainly you are not worried about what a car is going to do when you are not watching.  You want the brakes to work, the motor to run, the doors to close and so forth. Even if it is missing only one of those vital components, it will not have integrity, it will not be whole.

Likewise, to each of us, integrity should represent a completeness of character that will provide the necessary elements for success. This includes honesty, respect, resilience, faith in self and others, obedience and vision, just to name a few. There is nothing about integrity that limits our individuality.  We each have unique strengths and talents, as well as challenges. These differences bring great diversity and adaptability both individually and to every organization of which we are a part.

Remember those core values? We do not say “personal integrity first,” nor do we say “unit integrity first.” We simply say “integrity first.” To me, the lack of a qualifier is precisely what the authors intended; it means that integrity is a continuum that begins with the person and extends to the entire operation. When Airmen have integrity, so will each work center. Elements, flights, squadrons and every higher organization inherit their integrity from the individual, trained, professional Airman.

It is the responsibility of every Airman to ensure that we and our wingmen are exhibiting the characteristics which make up integrity, whether on or off-duty. From the ground up, it is adherence to these principles that sets the United States Air Force apart from any other service, in any other nation.  Every one of our Airmen is expected to be whole through education, training, personal standards, leadership and discipline. From E-1 to O-10, there is always room to grow and areas in which we can individually improve. Every day, we reach beyond the limits of the known, we push the envelope of the theoretical and we exceed the imaginations of our predecessors. We are the greatest air power in history and none of this is possible without integrity first!