Core Values: keys to success and safety

Flying Safety, March, 2004 by James E. Taylor

Over the past two and a half years as an AF Field Training Avionics Instructor, I have become increasingly more familiar with the Air Force's Core Values "Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do." The values' deeper meaning and consequences of ignoring the principles that they are based upon have become clearer to me. Core Values must be considered in every action and decision made by every AF individual. These values are more than a goal, they are a necessity to ensure a safe and successful outcome to our duties as military professionals. As students pass through my classroom, I have a chance to discuss and observe their perceptions of the AF, what it means to them to be AF members and exactly how much they know about our Core Values.

One difficulty faced by all AF instructors is the "The School House Weave," which is the act of integrating AF Core Values and Operational Risk Management (ORM) into every fifty-minute lesson taught. Instructors are required to use active learning techniques to illustrate and ingrain our Core Values and ORM into our students. Normally, "Integrity First" leads the charge in every aspect of aircraft maintenance training. I can't count the number of times I have used the non-use of technical data as an example of a breach of one's personal integrity. These breaches may put an aircrew member or another maintainer's life at risk. Everything we do as military members requires us to use and adhere to all Core Values.

Our level of understanding, when it comes to our Core Values, could use some work. Let's look at our Core Values, what they consist of and how they can be used to support our mission.

Integrity First

Integrity is a trait of one's character, a conscious effort, a need to do the right thing in all situations. With that idea in mind, a breach of integrity is a choice and can never be an accident. If your inner voice tells you something is not right with a decision or action, listen to it! No one can be faulted for using his or her integrity to make a decision. At times, the tempo of our duties rises and the pressure to make things happen faster takes over. At those times we must keep an eye on the decisions we make and the actions we condone in the name of the mission. When trying to justify questionable decisions, ask yourself, "Is this honestly the best direction to go in this situation?" "Do I want to be accountable for the outcome of my decision if something should go wrong?" If either of these answers is "No" or even questionable ... STOP and re-think the decision.

Service Before Self

Service before self is one of the most misunderstood aspects of our Core Values. It is often misused and misquoted to prove a point, or to force an action on the part of a subordinate. In all actuality, service before self means following the rules, respecting others and putting desires and wants that conflict with the needs of the AF on the back burner. We must maintain discipline and bearing in all situations regardless of our wants, desires or inner feelings. Successful completion of any mission is dependent on the ability of all participants to focus on the objectives at hand, and not have their actions or judgments clouded by things that may interfere with getting the job done. Bottom line, mission comes first!

Excellence In All We Do

Excellence in all we do is exactly that, a habit of doing things right and doing them to the best of our abilities every day, and teaching our subordinates to do the same in every situation they may face. To quote Aristotle, "Excellence is an act won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Making excellence and safety a habit, instead of an occurrence, will add to your unit's ability to achieve and change the overall organizational climate, which will raise unit morale and foster teamwork.

As a supervisor, it is your duty to ensure the information and ideas of what Core Values consist of are presented to your subordinates daily, and more importantly, seen by them in every action and decision you make.

The disregard of our values is a very serious problem and should be dealt with every day at every level, not just when someone crosses the line and actually makes the "big mistake." If a "mistake" was made, and attributed to a breach of our Core Values, is the perpetrator of that "mistake" entirely to blame? Shouldn't the blame be placed on the entire unit? Numerous lives have been lost and millions of dollars wasted due to the blatant disregard of technical data, cutting corners and "common practice" safety violations. Are these mistakes? Not actually. I like to call them failures, failures of the entire system when it comes to instilling our Core Values into our people.

By knowing our Core Values, their meanings and how to implement them within our units, and by imparting that knowledge to those around us, as well as living them ourselves, we set the example for others to follow. By setting that example we are setting ourselves up to succeed and building the foundation for a safe and productive AF. Bottom line, the less we have to worry about failures attributed to not adhering to our Core Values, the more time we have to focus on our mission and to achieve that mission on time, on target and safely.