This is part of a series shared ecumenically with members to whom I was assigned; the goal was to start conversation and deep thought, and many of these messages led to great conversations.
Sharpen Your Tusks
Original Publication Date: 8 June 2021
CMSgt Hemingway often reminds us to “Stay Ready to Be Ready!” Every time I’ve heard her say this, I was reminded of one of Aesop’s Fables, called “The Wild Boar and the Fox”; because the copyright ran out about two-and-a-half millennia ago, here it is in full:
A Wild Boar was sharpening his tusks busily against the stump of a tree, when a Fox happened by. Now the Fox was always looking for a chance to make fun of his neighbors. So he made a great show of looking anxiously about, as in fear of some hidden enemy. But the Boar kept right on with his work.
“Why are you doing that?” asked the Fox at last with a grin. “There isn’t any danger that I can see.”
“True enough,” replied the Boar, “but when danger does come there will not be time for such work as this. My weapons will have to be ready for use then, or I shall suffer for it.”When I initially think of staying ready I think of maintaining our base, our B-1’s, and our munitions. But that is just a tiny piece of our mission and life. There is so much more to prepare for and grow into to get ready for the challenges that lay ahead. One way to get ready is to step up into the next higher position; as CMSgt Hemingway retires AFPC has long-ago begun the process of promoting a new Command Chief, and a new CMSgt, and a new SMSgt, and a new MSgt, all the way to recruiting a new Airman. We can’t wait until we’re promoted into our next job to prepare for that job, we should be preparing now. In my former career field (2A3), we always had the impression that promotion came slower than experience; it was/is popular after putting on the next stripe to answer the question, “How do you feel?”, with “I feel like I’m finally getting paid for the job I’ve been doing for the past year!”
Preparedness for war is the best guarantee of peace. (Source/Translation by the Library of Congress)
We can prepare for our next challenge before it arrives a myriad of ways; one such way is seeking out experience from those who have done great things. I’ve never regretted time I’ve spent speaking with a senior leader like CMSgt Hemingway, in my almost two decades of talking to Chiefs I can name dozens who have shared useful and helpful information and who were diligent in making time for mentorship. We can also invest in taking college courses or reading good books/peer reviewed articles or listening to lectures from those who have studied and mastered difficult topics. When expecting a new baby you can be sure that I was reading parenting books and refreshing my past knowledge of raising tiny human beings.
A clear way that we see this—that I often emphasize in FTAC/ALS/etc briefings—is premarital counseling. Depending on the source you read, premarital counseling decreases the occurrence of divorce by between 10 and 50 percent. Preparation in this area has shown quantifiable results that getting ready will ensure you are ready when the need arises.
So as we keep Ellsworth AFB, our B-1s, our munitions, and our Airmen ready, take a moment today to consider how you can working to stay ready so you’ll be ready when you’re called upon to do hard things or when you’re the Wing Commander or Command Chief or civilian equivalent or other vital posiiton some not-so-distant years down the road.
I’d love to hear how you’re sharpening your tusks, and if you’re not, I’d love to help you find a way to start preparing so you’ll be ready to seize the opportunities that will come your way.
Big jobs usually go to the person who proves their ability to outgrow small ones. ~ Theodore Roosevelt
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