KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- I'm sure some of you may have heard the acronym RHIP before. It stands for Rank Has Its Privileges. But how many of you have heard of RHIR? RHIR stands for Rank Has Its Responsibilities.
It doesn't matter what rank you are, you have responsibilities. As a new Airman, you are expected to follow standards and perform the job you have been trained to do. As you progress in rank, your responsibilities will also increase. At the high end of that spectrum is the wing commander who answers for every Airman in this wing.
Although those levels of responsibility are vastly different, the most important thing is that everyone must fulfill their responsibilities in order for the mission to be successful. Too often, people focus more on the benefits and privileges of making rank rather than the obligations that accompany promotion.
Peter F. Drucker, a renowned management expert addressed it this way: "Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility."
Sir Winston Churchill said, "The price of greatness is responsibility" and in the book of Luke, chapter 12, verse 48, the Bible says, "from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."
Have you heard the story of the four bodies? Their names were Everybody, Somebody, Nobody and Anybody. Whenever there was an important job to be done, Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. When Nobody did it, Everybody got angry because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Somebody would do it, but Nobody realized that Nobody would do it. So consequently, Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done in the first place.
Everybody has responsibilities. Everybody needs to take care of their own obligations.
John D. Rockefeller ties our responsibilities and obligations together by saying, "I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty."
Thank you for taking care of your yard.