Stay Ready!

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Allen J. Kidd
  • 436th Medical Operations Squadron commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  In March 2010, I and another member of the medical group attended the Executive Leadership Symposium, a U.S. Air Force medical conference designed to deliver some of the latest information on the state of the Air Force Medical Service, particularly the AF Nurse Corps. As you might expect, we enjoyed a long line of outstanding speakers, including the AF Surgeon General, the Chief of the AF Nurse Corps and numerous other esteemed AF medical leaders. One of the best and most memorable briefings was delivered by a non-medic - a nearly 30-year AF Chief Master Sergeant, a veteran of many deployments to Southwest Asia, and a definite fan of the AFMS!

The stated purpose of the Chief's briefing was to outline some of the amazing accomplishments of deployed AF medics, many of which he had personally witnessed, and to share his thoughts on what enabled such outstanding performance.

He bragged at length on the superb, almost heroic efforts of AF doctors, surgeons, physician assistants, nurses, technicians, aeromedical evacuation crews and others who have achieved the highest warfighter survival rate in combat history. He discussed issues such as outstanding training, unwavering adherence to standards, consistent teamwork, etc. that has made our combat operations such a success.

Somewhere along the way, he made a significant comment about another issue that I quickly jotted down - one that reflected a philosophy on personal readiness that shaped his daily ops - "If you stay ready, you won't have to get ready."

This simple concept definitely struck a chord with me. I recalled a time a few years ago when the commandant of a school I was attending cautioned us to "stay ready," because the AF would eventually "tap us on the shoulder" to step up and there would not be time to "get ready!" That call came for me in September 2008 when I found out I had 60 days to get to Dover to take over the Medical Operations Squadron!

It seems that call comes all too frequently now for many Dover Airmen, many of whom are given just a few days notice to leave their families and familiar surroundings for an extended deployment. I'm sure we have all witnessed one or two Airmen who were not quite ready and the anxiety they experienced during the last-minute scramble to get their affairs in order and out the door.

So what do we need to do to stay ready and how do we help our Airmen avoid the last-minute panic? Some things are obvious, like up-to-date medical readiness, providing uniforms, equipment and opportunities to maintain physical fitness, and making sure they are properly trained.

Clearly, training is huge and we owe it to our Airmen to give them the best available in a timely fashion. In 2009, a very young member of my squadron was tasked to deploy as the sole medic for a Security Forces team patrolling 85 miles of a dangerous Iraqi highway. The tasking was for a more highly trained independent-duty technician, but the AF could not find one available, so my Airman, a basic medical technician, was tasked. He was understandably nervous, but I think he would tell you today that the training the AF provided more than prepared him for the job.

Some other, maybe not-so-obvious, aspects of staying ready involves personal issues, such as finances, plans for taking care of family members, homes, vehicles and personal belongings while deployed, and being mentally and spiritually ready to deal with the unexpected. Our first sergeants do a great job with this, but I believe all AF leaders are responsible for an on-going dialogue with our Airmen on these issues. Starting to think about these things after the 'tap on the shoulder' is definitely way too late.

You may have heard about a recent event in the AOR involving two members of my squadron - a nurse and a medical technician. While eating in the dining facility, their B-hut was hit with a mortar and burned to the ground. Fortunately, no one was injured, but all their belongings, except for the clothes they were wearing, were destroyed. They were clearly shaken and the AF did a great job of resupply, but during the phone call with them, it was obvious their personal and professional efforts to stay ready, long before the tap to deploy, allowed them to effectively carry on.

So ask yourself today, what am I doing to stay ready and what am I doing for my Airmen to make sure they are ready?

Remember the Chief's words - "If you stay ready, you won't have to get ready."