Opportunity combined with Preparation…Success!

  • Published
  • By Maj. Earl Williams
  • 436th Medical Operations Squadron commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  We all have heard the old cliché "Opportunity doesn't knock twice," meaning when an opportunity arises, you should take it because it might not ever happen again. Are we always given the opportunity, do we know when it's really knocking? Are we ready to take advantage of it?

I'll share with you from experience; opportunity does knock quite often since I've been in the Air Force.

During my time, I've attended several retirements, promotion ceremonies, graduations, and awards and decoration presentations. The most glaring theme from each of the events appears to be what the Air Force provides each member: Opportunity.

I truly believe this is something every Air Force member and Department of Defense employee routinely experiences and should not be taken lightly. One of the most important opportunities the Air Force is providing us is the Operational Readiness Inspection.

Many of us across the installation have been a part of an ORI, but would never consider it an opportunity, but it is. How many of your high school classmates can stake the claim of being part an ORI? How about your neighbor? Most Americans recognize only one thing concerning the Air Force...that we fly! Rarely do they understand the multiple opportunities given, and that's where each of you come in.

As a phenomenal leader and head coach, Vince Lombardi shares some principles that can be applied in our daily preparation for anything, to include the ORI. Coach Lombardi once said "Winning is not a sometime thing...it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while...you don't do the right thing once in a while...you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit."

Most of us understand that becoming successful is no easy task and that it requires lots of practice to prepare.

Malcolm Gladwell, author of Tipping Point and Blink, stated in his book Outliers that "if you want to shine, put in 10,000 hours honing your skills."

We've all been putting in a great deal of time and effort into honing our skills for the upcoming ORI, which begins Dec. 7.

As you continue preparing, be sure to make the Air Mobility Command Inspector General Special Instructions part of your daily devotional reading. Additionally, become more familiar with the Installation Deployment Plan, which defines the local processes, procedures, infrastructure and resources that the installation utilizes to deploy capabilities.

Finally, understand your role in the IDP and Deployment Planning and Execution Process

Planning and preparation are always a part of our business in the Air Force and prepping for this ORI is no exception. Combine what the Air Force gives each of us every day (opportunity) with this tenacious preparation, to include the upcoming executing with a 'can-do' spirit during the DEPEX; each of you will have a chance to make an impact, "Deliver," and ultimately we're all celebrating a successful ORI!