Analysis Of Core Values Of The United States Airmen

Core values can be defined as someone’s central beliefs that are guiding principles and dictate their behavior. Usually, core values are used to help a person understand the difference between right and wrong. My core values were not all present when I first enlisted, but I let my Airforce and the experiences it brought to mold me and build me to who I am now. The core values I choose to live by, though not the only ones, but are most significant to me are honesty, motivation, dedication, professionalism, and personal development. These five values are my mental “good book” and guide so that I can make the right decisions professionally and personally.

Of all my core values, honesty is the most significant and holds the most weight in my life. The number one thing I hate most in the world is a liar. Whether it’s a “white lie”, or little fib, or a lie so earth shattering you no longer speak to someone, you’ve told a lie that made someone question the validity of what you say and do. The capability to believe and trust what you say and do is called trustworthiness and is not easily rebuilt once broken. For this reason, honesty holds the most significance because if I can’t believe you or trust you to follow through with your promises, why would I want you in my life or by myside when our lives could depend on it? General Mark Welsh said “…there is nothing more important to the nation than the integrity and the trustworthiness of the people who defend it…”

This value is closely tied to the Airforce core value of Integrity: The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, which is why honesty is vital to success in the Airforce. Honesty relates to integrity because no one is fact checking everything you say and do, therefor, no one is watching for you to be honest and do the right thing. Honesty, being a part of integrity, is a cornerstone of our moral high in the Airforce. We live by our first core value and thus, we must live by honesty. We rely on our coworkers without question because they take care of us and support us. Without honesty in your personal and professional relationships the connections you build break away and fade leaving you lonely and without wingmen. [1: General Mark A. Welsh, Chief of Staff, United States Air Force (CSAF), 2014 ]

Motivation is a key ingredient in any recipe for success, but if you’re struggling with motivation or simply have none it can be a recipe for disaster. Motivation is a word used to describe the reasons why we push ourselves to complete a task; our driving factor that causes passion and propulsion towards a goal. Personally, my top three motivations are my wife and our lives together, my work and fulfillment at work, and being a part of something much greater than myself: the Airforce. This core value is important to me because it enables me to look for reasons for why I’m doing what I’m doing and the constant reflection and alignment with this core value helps me to reestablish passions and desires if I’ve lost sight of my goal.

This personal core value is aligned with the Airforce core value of Excellence in All We Do because to achieve excellence we must first be motivated to accomplish our goals. Motivation is also slightly different from this Airforce core value because excellence is more of how we do what we do, than the why. Someone who is highly motivated naturally exudes excellence in what they do, but for someone who is lacking in motivation, or has none, may have less than satisfactory results. Therefore, it is important to be properly motivated so that you can push yourself to accomplish excellence.

To correctly live by any core value, especially the Airforce core values, you must be dedicated. But what is dedication? Dedicated is time, passion, love, practice, loyalty, and owning your responsibilities. Dedication is being committed to a goal or purpose, but also includes amounts of selflessness. This core value is important to me because it describes the way I live my life and the way I walk through my career as an Airman. I am dedicated to my wife and to the vows we took on our wedding day, to my career and the oath I took when I enlisted, and to my own personal growth to become a better person. Being dedicated to anything reflects your priorities and will show what kind of person you are to others through what you put your time and effort into. This personal core value I believe sits under the Airforce core value of Service Before Self. In fact, I don’t believe you can speak about Service Before Self without also talking about dedication. Dedication regarding Service Before Self is a commitment to duty and willingness to set aside my own needs for the benefit of the mission and the country. Dedication to me is a fork in the road when making decisions. Am I going to put my whole self into this project and serve selflessly or am I going to let a lack of dedication affect the foward progress of the mission?

My next core value is professionalism, which can mean many things, but in most cases has to do with your conduct and your behavioral traits. Whether it’s your professionalism at work, professionalism on the phone, and even while you’re in the drive through for your favorite fast food there is a way to speak and act that is expected of everyone. What professionalism means to me is education, the way I act, talk and treat others, and the way I present myself in any circumstance. This is important to me because I want to lead by example as a new NCO so that my new troops can see that I take pride in my position, the work I do, and the way I conduct myself, regardless of the conditions.

My personal core value also falls under the Airforce core value Excellence in All We Do. The two values are similar in that they travel down parallel paths towards completing our goals and missions. They are both ways of travel when it comes to how we are supposed to conduct ourselves in the Airforce, and for myself, even when I’m driving down I-95 in stopped traffic. The phrase “You never take the uniform off” comes to mind because our job requires that we are professional and conduct ourselves accordingly even when we physically have the uniform off.

Last, but not least, personal development is another significant core value of mine. It is why I finished basic, technical training, my CCAF, and why I’m getting my bachelor’s degree in Network Operations and Security. Personal development isn’t just school though, it’s also allowing the experiences that you go through on a day to day basis to be learning and growing experiences. I never went to school to learn how to change the oil in a car or to figure out how to pay my bills, but I sure did learn quick when I heard funny sounds coming from the engine and collectors started calling me.

This core value is of great significance to me because I am always looking to further develop myself as an Airmen and as a human being. The lengths I will go to learn, educate, or gain experience know no bounds. It is no surprise that this value also relates to the Airforce core value of Excellence in all we do, but in a way, it also aligns itself with Service Before Self. How, you might ask? When you actively seek out knowledge, experiences, and understanding to better yourself so that you can better serve the Airforce, it puts you in a position that illustrates this value. Seeking to better yourself to better your coworkers, the mission, and the Airforce I believe exemplifies Service Before Self.

Whether it’s through my dedication and motivations, my honesty and trustworthiness, or my professionalism and personal development I will always seek to be a better person and Airmen. Having these personal core values helps me to focus on what’s important in my career and life. They also enable me to set an example to my future troops, coworkers, and friends and show them the type of person I am and aspire to be.

Having core values, whether personal or part of an organization, will help us to align ourselves with our goals and missions. The Airforce core values along with personal core values are my central beliefs and help me to set myself apart from the rest of the world. They provide the standards and principles I need to live and preform professionally and strike pride in myself and many others; Pride in being a United States Airmen.