Wingman Day about taking care of each other Published Nov. 19, 2007 By Chief Master Sgt. Bruce Heinzen 47th FTW Command Chief Master Sergeant LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Soon Airmen from across the base, officer, enlisted, and civilian will participate in Wingman Day activities designed for each of us to take a step back and refocus our efforts on building relationships with our fellow Airmen, to examine our strengths and weaknesses, and to plan for the coming new year. But the true success of the event will only begin to be measured after the event is but a memory. You see, the purpose of Wingman Day is to recommit ourselves to taking care of each other, every day, not just on Wingman Day. A key to the success of Wingman Day is taking the time to get to know each other, to learn more about our families and what each bring to both the mission and community. During a recent course I attended, I was reminded just how important this is. A spouse of a pilot killed in action recounted in riveting detail the process of being notified of her husband's death. Still vividly painful, she wanted us to know how important it was that she knew the Airmen assigned to her and her family to help them through the tragedy. The message again was get to know and take care of each other, before something happens. Many of us have attended funerals that become impromptu family reunions and we make declarations like, "we'll keep in touch," only to realize some time later that again, we didn't keep that pledge. We get so busy we sometimes don't see the amazing people and things right in front of us. In his book, Muddy Boots Leadership, Maj. John Chapman, U.S. Army retired, relates a story in which an NCO was asked whom he would submit for an informal unit award. The NCO replied he had no one to submit. The supervisor called the NCO's subordinates in and asked them who they thought might be deserving, and they quickly related the actions of several worthy candidates. The NCO did not come empty handed again. The message of Wingman Day is to get to know our fellow Airmen, what's important to them and what they're doing both on and off duty. When we take the time to get to know each other, we're much more likely to notice when someone or something isn't right. We've all been through difficult things and having someone to lean on or someone to even notice we're struggling can make the difference in how well we get through something. We know what's going on in Iran and Pakistan and which young Hollywood celebrity has entered into rehab, yet many of us know little about those we work alongside everyday or even live next door to. I've not seen anyone respond better to crises than our Air Force family, but I believe sometimes we may have been able to avoid the crisis altogether if we would have just taken the time to get to know each other just a little better. As we approach Wingman Day as well as the holidays, let's take a few moments to reset some personal goals and recommit ourselves to what we do and why we do it. With those goals in hand, we'll set out to learn more about the Airmen each of us serve with. It's what we do, it's who we are: wingmen, leaders and warriors. For more information on Wingman Day events, including Wing Commander's Call, Commanders Toolkit and Base Chase, check out the internal web page at http://sps.laughlin.af.mil/wingman.