Sustaining a Culture of Excellence

  • Published
  • By Col. Manson O. Morris
  • 436th Airlift Wing commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Team Dover - you are incredible. Time and again you have shown that there is no better team in our command, and you continue to do so today. You provide unrivaled GlobalReach for America and you have the awards to prove it, including the 2010 AMC Installation Excellence Award and a spot as an Air Force-level finalist. Those of you who have seen my newcomers briefing know that it would be easy to fill an entire article with a list of your extensive accolades. They range from organizational awards - like the Smith Trophy given to the #1 Airlift Squadron, best Medium Chapel in AMC, and the National Defense Transportation Association Military Unit of the Year - to individual awards such as AMC's Crew Chief of the Year and Optometry Civilian of the Year. Team Dover's share of the Air Force's recognition program is staggering.

Why do you think this is the case? Does Dover AFB have a monopoly on outstanding performers? Those of you who have been stationed at other bases know that there is no shortage of great Americans serving in our Air Force. Dover AFB is part of an amazing institution filled with highly talented individuals who are dedicated to doing great things for our Nation. You are one of those people. Why is your team - Team Dover - the kind of team that it is? There are a lot of reasons. I'd like to highlight two: purpose and culture.

Purpose - Dover AFB exists for a reason. Together we have a mission to accomplish, and it's a critical one. Sustaining the flow of personnel and supplies to combat zones, deploying forward to accomplish wartime tasks, enabling humanitarian relief, caring for our fallen heroes and their families, providing a topnotch installation that facilitates our success - fulfilling these and our other vital roles gives purpose to our daily efforts. Our mission is one that is easy to be excited about. We recognize its importance, we see the meaningful results of our work, and we know that only our best will do, because others are counting on us to deliver outstanding results. Our mission gives us purpose.

Culture - While our mission is something we've been given, our culture is something we and those who have come before us have created. This culture of excellence is something we each own a piece of, and we're responsible for shaping that piece on a daily basis. Your individual professionalism, dedication to our Core Values, enforcement of our standards, mentoring and grooming of those around you, and care for the other members of your Air Force family - the behaviors you accept and encourage, together with those you reject and discourage - all of these elements shape the culture we share.

We cannot take Team Dover's excellence for granted. Our choices shape the culture we will hand to our successors. Between the time this installation won the 2008 Commander in Chief's Installation Excellence Award and our 2010 Finalist finish, hundreds upon hundreds of people joined and departed Team Dover, yet the standard of performance for which our base is known did not decrease. In fact, in speaking with those who were here for both competitions, I've consistently been told that it increased. Those who carried our base forward after the 2008 Award chose to reach for even higher levels of excellence. We each have the same choice to make as we take Dover through the period of time where we own its mission. Each of us has an impact on those around us, and we determine what that impact will be. Supervisors, especially those of our newest personnel, have an absolutely key role in this area. Individual excellence rubs off on others; it encourages them to use their talents to their fullest extent.

Whether you're part of our core of civilian employees and Reserve partners whose long-term stay at Dover provides an ability to shape the installation over an extended period or you're an Airman who moves from base to base every few years transferring fresh ideas and broad experiences throughout our force, you will make your part of this base what it will be. Claim our incredible mission as your own and find purpose in accomplishing what we do for America, and keep building our Legacy of Excellence. What we have together is bigger than any one of us, and we have it thanks to each of your individual contributions.

Deliver!