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  • Building Partnerships - One Conversation at a Time

    Today, we interact in our virtual worlds, sometimes on a daily basis with peers, coworkers, friends, relatives and acquaintances. Numerous advances in technology have greatly influenced how the world conducts business, receives information and communicates. We exist in our plugged-in, virtual worlds

  • From Baghdad: Summer Holidays

    (Editor's Note: Lt. Col. Heidi Osterhout is deployed for six months as the deputy legal advisor supporting the Office of Security Cooperation mission, based in Baghdad, Iraq. This is her second deployment to Iraq.)There are several surreal moments during deployments -- the blast of hot air that hits

  • Lead Airmen to greatness

    One of the most rewarding experiences of my career has been returning to Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB, Texas for a visit. Notice that I said "visit"; no one who has experienced BMT as a trainee would want to go back for anything other than a visit. During my trip, the Military Training

  • Why I love being a first sergeant

    I'm often asked why I chose to become a first sergeant. I tell people it's not for the money, but the awesome parking spot I get at the squadron. In all seriousness, I tell them that initially I didn't know if I'd made the right decision, even upon graduation from the First Sergeant Academy. But

  • Don't be afraid of failure

    I've been in the U.S. Air Force for nine years and I've just sewn on my Staff Sergeant stripe - for the second time. Almost two years ago, to the day, I made the choice to get behind the wheel of my car after drinking. I was stopped at a traffic control point and arrested for driving under the

  • It takes Airmen from every specialty to get job done

    Recently, two of our U.S. Air Forces Central Airmen were criticized online by other Airmen for receiving Bronze Stars after completion of their deployments to Afghanistan. I'd like to take this opportunity to explain the rigorous awards board process and emphasize the meticulous manner in which we

  • Volunteering as a victim advocate

    When I joined the Air Force in 1996 at the age of 20, I shared the dream that most who enlist have; I wanted to get my education and see the world. I had planned on getting out at my four-year mark as many of us do, but as the years flew by I realized that I was yet to accomplish any of my short

  • Geo-tagging: Your social media update could put everyone at risk

    It's only a Facebook status update -- I'm not saying where I am so what could be so wrong?What you may not know is you could be geo-tagging and inadvertently sharing sensitive information without ever knowing it. What is geo-tagging? It is a preloaded GPS service on smart phones and tablets that

  • Deployed Living - Part II, the laundry fairy

    I've officially adopted the pseudo name "laundry fairy." This official title of fluffy-folded goodness did not come from my own imagination; rather I heard it from one of my dorm-mates as she beamed while describing a miraculous laundry folding incident.I don't know why I like folding laundry. Maybe

  • Fighting the bad guys, taking great pictures

    Traditionally, women in our country bore children and stayed home to raise them while the men left home to defend our nation against her enemies. Times have definitely changed; today both men and women in the armed forces sacrifice greatly for just causes. We live in a world where life, love and the