Pearl Harbor Day: Readiness now as imperative as it was in 1941 Published Dec. 6, 2007 By Lt. Col. Carlos Camarillo 436 LRS commander DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Today we pay tribute to one of history's most significant events. Sixty-six years ago, Japanese naval and air forces launched a well-planned and executed raid on American soil at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On that terrible morning, thousands of men and women lost their lives and many more lay crippled or injured. It is only right that we should give pause and remember their sacrifices as well as honor the families affected by this tragic, yet historic event. The significance of that fateful day not only lies with the accounting of our casualties. It effectively thrust America into a war that, at the time, was ill-prepared to fight. Our industrial capacity had not yet been mobilized, and with our naval forces virtually crippled in the Pacific, our nation needed to take action. The following day, President Franklin Roosevelt, in his most memorable speech, called for America to abandon its isolationist agenda and formally declare war. Ready or not, we were going. As military professionals, it is incumbent upon us to go beyond our remembrances and review the lessons learned paid for by their sacrifices. The shock and anger of the American people in response to the attack not only solidified our resolve for a quick and decisive victory; it left many to question how we could have allowed this catastrophe to happen. The simple answer is: we were not ready. We once believed that oceans and great distances shielded us from such a sneak attack. With advances in aviation, maritime technology and superb planning by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese commander-in-chief, the attack was executed. Sun Tzu, a Chinese mathematician who lived around 500 B.C., wrote, "the art of war teaches us to rely not on the likeliness of the enemy not coming, but on our own readiness to receive them." More recently, historians wrote volumes about our nation's unpreparedness back in 1941. I will not delve into the economic and political agendas of that time; but the issue of readiness does deserve some degree of consideration. As Dover Air Force Base prepares to send team members abroad in support of expeditionary Air Force deployments, the issue of personal readiness is in the forefront of many minds. Today's Air Force places many readiness demands on its members. Airmen are expected to maintain physical fitness, deployment training and off-duty education. Our pre-deployment checklist has grown from a one-page form that was checked off on a deployment line within minutes, to a five-page checklist documenting several base organizations who had the opportunity to give the deploying member a briefing, ensure they are physically and emotionally ready to deploy, or have completed the 'laundry list' of required training classes. Were things better in the one-page-checklist days? Probably not. What has changed is the need to ensure we as an Air Force, the Dover community specifically, are not sending any of our members into a situation they are not prepared to handle. The face of conflict has changed dramatically, much of it due to technological advances and the availability of resources never utilized before. These include electronic devices and the Internet to gather and disseminate information, to cell phones and garage door openers that can set off explosive devices. The list goes on. The way the Air Force interacts with our sister services has also dramatically changed. Air Force members are now asked to perform duties traditionally performed by the Army or Marines. The pre-deployment checklist is the only way the base has assurance that every deployer is ready to meet the challenges they may encounter. The most critical element of the preparation is you. You are the first, last and best assurance that you will be ready to go. If you are uncertain where to find answers, start asking questions to your supervisor or your unit deployment or training managers. Take the initiative and ensure you are early to your training classes and your appointments. Write them down, tell a friend to remind you, jot them on your arm - whatever it takes to ensure you don't miss them. Take the time to know what you're taking with you, like your mobility folder. Don't just glance through it; get to know what is in it and where to locate it when you are asked for particular items when you arrive in theatre. Believe me, you will be asked. Every deployer is a representative of their base. If you are from Dover, you represent the best of the best! We fly sorties, push cargo, drive trucks, turn wrenches and pound keyboards every day to support the ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not many stateside bases can say that, and we do it better than any of them. When it is your turn to deploy (and everyone in uniform will have their chance), it is your opportunity to represent us all. Don't waste it -- be ready when the time comes!