Other

F-15D Crash (Pilot Safe)

A F-15D crashed in England yesterday.     The 493rd Fighter Squadron (Grim Reapers) lost one of their jets, and thankfully recovered the pilot.    On my first assignment, the squadron was an 18 PAA (primary aircraft assigned)  and flew F-15C aircraft while maintaining one F-15D aircraft for training purposes (86-182).    During my second tour, they were re-designated a 24 PAA squadron and maintained two F-15D aircraft.  I flew with the 493rd Fighter Squadron for two tours and over six years during my career.   For the first 10 years of the squadron’s existence (based on my overlap) I knew just about everyone who flew in the squadron.

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On my final assignment, I was the 48 OSS squadron commander, responsible for operations, intelligence, weather, scheduling, base operations and air traffic control at RAF Lakenheath.   For that reason, I was assigned outside of the Grim Reapers (technically attached and not assigned to the squadron).   Therefore, only being attached, I was relegated to have my assigned aircraft (the one with my name) as the F-15D.    Originally, I thought that aircraft was 86-182, but it was the other F-15D 84-044.    I can remember flying these D-models often.    We would often fly the two-seaters for training missions (with an observer), incentive flights and even reenlist some Airmen in it.

Yesterday, 86-182 crashed in Lincolnshire.

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I often grieve my life in the Air Force.   But today, I grieve a typical day of a Grim Reaper pilot.     I know the car ride onto the base, over the taxiway, the FOD check, and the weaving around the hangers in order not to be late.     I know the walk into “soft” and then “hard” ops, the check of the daily and weekly schedule.    I can hear his whine when he wasn’t included on the next cross-country or deployment into mainland Europe.

I can see him planning, briefing, stepping, preflighting and starting his F-15 out at the HAS.    I imagine the 4-ship launch that made the base stop for the 1:40 minutes it took for them to launch.  I see crossing the North Sea Shoreline, G-Turns, Fence-In, Setting up for an engagement, calling “Fight’s on”, “Fox-3 x 2”, “Kill the F-16 in the descending right turn” , “Knock-it-off”, return to base, descending into and then below the ever-blanketing low English clouds, maintenance debrief, the flight reconstruction, the weapon school debrief and the demanded perfection.    Grabbing a line-up card for tomorrow.   And then opening the squadron door into the starless English night, and driving home with radio blaring, feeling unbelievably alive.

But today, I lost piece of that.   So here’s a toast  to aircraft 86-182….”  (I wish I could fully remember the full Friday night Roll Call Grim Reaper toast, I hate getting old!)

Blessings – “Lucky”

 

 

Leadership, Productivity

Just Say Yes

OK – this weekend I finished a blog about the importance of saying NO.    So, God has to shake it up, and put someone else’s blog into my email today about the power of saying “YES”.    Never one to deny serendipity, I feel it is importance to acknowledge my appreciation of the importance  of saying YES.

The blog I received was from LANDMARK Insights… and I quote as follows:

“Yes” extends boundaries, establishes new playing fields, moves possibility from ideas to actuality. Actress and improv artist Tina Fey points to the opportunity yes affords us when she says, “the first rule of improv is agree—agree with whatever your partner has created. The second rule is yes, and—agree and then add something of your own. If I start a scene with ‘I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,’ and you just say, ‘Yeah…’ we’re kind of at a standstill. But if I say, ‘I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,’ and you say, ‘Yes, it can’t be good for the wax figures,’ now we’re getting somewhere.” 

So how do I reconcile saying YES, while not putting myself into a productivity drain, or by saying NO, and not leaving me “wanting.”

I believe the answer remains, as discussed in the previous blog, that my decision to say YES or NO must come from alignment with my integrity (alignment of intentions or alignment with my highest purpose).

I must understand my values, vision, mission, goals and objectives and overall intention in the world.    This “strategic guidance” for our lives (or businesses) ensures focused productivity and then guides me to say YES or NO from a place of strength.

Because, when I say YES, it is an agreement, a commitment, a responsibility that reflects upon my character and requires my action and follow through.    Saying YES is saying I commit to you this action and I will stand by it.

As I discuss with my son, it is only my actions that tell my story and not the words I use.   Therefore, saying YES or NO to you is an insight to who I am.

But to end, I must acknowledge that many times I say NO to avoid leaving my comfort zone and hide.   Saying YES in that regard is really saying, step into your fear, make room for possibility, live life to the fullest, take a chance.   And although I agree with all of these wholeheartedly, saying YES or NO is about being alignment with all of who I am.

Blessings – Pierre

 

Books, Distinctions

The Four Agreements – By Don Miguel Ruiz

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Occasionally, as part of my syllabus development and blog creation, I plan on  reviewing leadership oriented books, this one leaning toward personal leadership.

The first book is The Four Agreements – by Don Miguel Ruiz.

This was the first book I was asked to read by a leadership coach at Northwestern.  This book has remarkable traction in the spiritual and personal development communities.   Some religious communities have expressed concern because of Ruiz’ connection with “Toltec Wisdom” and “New Age” bent.    However, it is obvious from this, and his other books, that Ruiz has a deep catholic heritage which sets context and depth to the book.

Finally, I love the book because … it reminds me that “it is all about me.”   Meaning, most of the junk that hits me in my life is caused by my own doing.   I unconsciously manipulate the stories that are fragments of my true life.   I make people wrong based on the shadows that plague me.    I judge and make assumptions about what people say or do strictly based on my on personal experience.    Can you imagine a life where you see what is happening for its truth, and not the story we create or impose upon it.

Here is a summary of the Four Agreements:

Be Impeccable with Your Word

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

Impeccable means “without sin” and a sin is something you do or believe that goes against yourself.   It means not speaking against yourself, to yourself or to others.    It means not rejecting yourself. To be impeccable means to take responsibility for yourself, to not participate in “the blame game.”

 Regarding the word, the rules of “action-reaction” apply.   What you put out energetically will return to you.   Proper use of the word creates proper use of energy, putting out love and gratitude perpetuates the same. The converse is also true. 

Impeccability starts at home. Be impeccable with yourself and that will reflect in your life and your relationships with others. This agreement can help change thousands of other agreements, especially ones that create fear instead of love.

Don’t Take Anything Personally

Nothing others do is because of you.  What others say and do is a projection of their own issues.   When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

We take things personally when we agree with what others have said.   If we didn’t agree, the things that others say would not affect us emotionally.   If we did not care about what others think about us, their words or behavior could not affect us.

   Even if someone yells at you, gossips about you, harms you or yours, it still is not about you! Their actions and words are based on what they believe in their personal dream. 

  Our personal “Book of Law” and belief system makes us feel safe.   When people have beliefs that are different from our own, we get scared, defend ourselves, and impose our point of view on others.    If someone gets angry with us it is because our belief system is challenging their belief system and they get scared.    They need to defend their point of view.   Why become angry, create conflict, and expend energy arguing when you are aware of this?

Don’t Make Assumptions

Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

When we make assumptions it is because we believe we know what others are thinking and feeling. We believe we know their point of view, their dream. We forget that our beliefs are just our point of view based on our belief system and personal experiences and have nothing to do with what others think and feel. 

We make the assumption that everybody judges us, abuses us, victimizes us, and blames us the way we do ourselves. As a result we reject ourselves before others have the chance to reject us. When we think this way, it becomes difficult to be ourselves in the world.

Take action and be clear to others about what you want or do not want; do not gossip and make assumptions about things others tell you. Respect other points of view and avoid arguing just to be right. Respect yourself and be honest with yourself. Stop expecting the people around you to know what is in your head.

Always Do Your Best

Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

Doing your best means enjoying the action without expecting a reward. The pleasure comes from doing what you like in life and having fun, not from how much you get paid. Enjoy the path traveled and the destination will take care of itself.

Living in the moment and releasing the past helps us to do the best we can in the moment. It allows us to be fully alive right now, enjoying what is present, not worrying about the past or the future.

Have patience with yourself. Take action. Practice forgiveness. If you do your best always, transformation will happen as a matter of course.