U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Airman Marleah Miller Airman 1st Class Andrew Wanros, 11th Security Forces Squadron, checks an identification card Oct. 1 at Bolling’s Arnold Gate.

Every Airman and civilian that serves as a member of the squadron is asked to be prepared to deliver this simple summary of their duties and how they tie into the overall wing mission.

To some this may seem like a simple requirement with little value. I'd argue that by getting our Airmen to internalize the mission statement and having them articulate how they support that mission empowers each Airman to make decisions and take decisive action – whether it's calling for backup to open another lane of traffic at the gate, doing an emergency repair on an air conditioner or responding to a major disaster.

Understanding how you tie into the mission enables you to be an expert at what you do and deliver “Superior Customer Service.“ Without that investment-into the overarching mission of the wing, our Airmen aren't equipped with the tools to truly be empowered, because they end up operating in a vacuum focused solely on the shop and their assigned tasks. It takes some vision and understanding of the workings of the base to know how you contribute to the greater good.

If you have that big picture and understand the value of what may seem like a menial task, its importance and impact on the 11th Wing and the tenants we have working on Bolling, you make everyone's job easier and more productive. More importantly, each Airman understands the impact they have on our Air Force, our nation and the war on terrorism.

On a personal note, when I was a young captain my commander literally forced me to take time each day to reflect on what we were doing, talk about the wing, the Air Force and strategic national level events. As a young operations officer, I was task-saturated and focused on getting the mission done; going to the boss's office at the end of each day to talk was the last thing I wanted to do. What I learned – against my will I might add – is that by taking the time to understand the big picture, learning to think big and develop some vision, I was better prepared to do my job at the tactical level.

Although you may not be able to spend that amount of time with everyone in your organization each day, I'd challenge each individual, supervisor and leader to take the time to develop your Airmen, teach them how they tie into the greater mission, and think strategically.