What is your purpose?

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Marcos Garcia
  • 8th Force Support Squadron commander
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  What is your purpose and what do you value? This is the question everyone should ask themselves if they want to be successful in achieving goals, aspirations and dreams.

For me, my purpose is to support my family, serve others and enforce standards. What I value are the positive relationships I have with family, which includes my Air Force family.

Perhaps a coincidence but Family, Service, and Standards ties in with the acronym FSS, which is the squadron I recently took command of. While a cliché, the reality is, these principles are rooted to our Air Force core values.

One of the definitions of family in the Webster's dictionary is "a group of people united by certain convictions." A typical conviction for any family includes integrity. This is because there is a certain amount of trust which must be present in order for a family to remain united. Once the trust of family is compromised, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the unity of the family.

Just like your family at home, our Air Force family is highly dependent on trust and integrity. So as a rule of thumb, whatever actions would embarrass or bring shame to your parents, grandparents, spouse, children, extended family or friends, will more than likely compromise our Air Force values, which effects unit cohesion and effectiveness. Most of us can relate to honorable service to our family, which is how we should view our Air Force family.

When it comes to service it may seem obvious how it relates to the Air Force core value of service before self. What may not be so obvious is how much of a privilege it is to serve others.

One of the definitions of service in the Webster's dictionary is, "the contribution to the welfare of others." Put another way, the definition of service clearly outlines a responsibility for the well-being of people. Any responsibility taken on for the well-being of other people is clearly service in a leadership capacity. Thus, the Air Force value of 'service before self' is synonymous with leadership, which is a privilege and sacred trust.

Most of us can relate to the idea of 'with great power comes great responsibility.' What we must always remember is that service is a privilege guided by principles and standards.

Standards according to the Webster's dictionary are, "something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model or an example." Standards function as the foundation for the Air Force core value of excellence. When striving for excellence, we must first ensure we have exhausted meeting the standard and then look for how the standard can be enhanced for improvement.

To skip standards before engaging in improvements is like throwing out completed research and making conclusions without looking at it. Thus, meeting standards is an essential first step towards meeting our Air Force core value of 'excellence in all we do.'

While perhaps cliché, there is no doubt FSS relates to our Air Force core values. For me, FSS serves as a foundation for what I value, which is a positive relationship with my wife, daughters, parents, grandparents, sisters and fellow Airmen. I want to make my fellow Airmen here at the Wolf Pack and family back home proud! This is what I value!

Do you know what your purpose is? Do you know what you value?

Too often many of us aspire to a dream, but fail to take the necessary steps to make them a reality. Many of you are probably familiar with the old adage "nothing in this world is free" and in order to accomplish or obtain anything of value, it usually comes at cost. The cost can come in the form of time, resources or quality.

Put another way, where do you spend your time? Spend your money? Or place your effort? This is the question each of us needs to ask ourselves when considering what our purpose is and what it is that we value. What are your goals, aspirations and dreams? Ask yourself, are you spending your time, money and effort towards what you value? Remember, actions speak louder than words!