Jumper stresses core values, spiritual strength

Spokesman Magazine, July, 2005

SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- As part of service in the Air Force, Airmen are expected to embrace its core values, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper said in a Chief's Sight Picture released June 28. These values--integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do -- are a guide that binds Airmen together even as they fight for the right to be different in many ways.

"We expect these values to be fundamental to our service, to guide our commitment to our country and our mission, and to serve as a test for the decisions we make in both our personal and professional lives," he said. "They reside in the front row of our daily lives to help us wrestle with our toughest decisions and to guide us on our path of service as Airmen.

"Spiritual strength is an integral part of leadership," General Jumper said, but religion is "intensely personal," and disagreements can detract from the teamwork necessary for Air Force units. Anything that detracts from that teamwork ultimately detracts from the mission.

"Spiritual strength is what drives us to make sacrifices for others, for our nation and for the greater good," General Jumper said. "For some, a commitment to a specific religious faith is a source of that spiritual strength, but not for all.

"For some, it is their heritage and the experience of people within our human family," he said. "For others, it is the way they were touched as individuals by a family member's, teacher's or leader's work of faith or charity."

General Jumper reminds Airmen specifically of their commitment to the Air Force's core value, "service before self."

"We see spiritual strength as (the core value's) foundation, whether or not an individual sees himself or herself as religious," he said.