FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
The Air Force isn’t just a fleet of advanced aircraft or a set of strategic plans on paper. It’s the collective heartbeat of those willing to defend the nation, the Defense Logistics Agency Energy’s director of customer operations said Sept. 7 during a celebration of the service’s 76th birthday.
“Whether you’re a seasoned officer with stars on your shoulders or a young airman just starting out, your contribution is the thread that weaves the rich and resilient fabric of our Air Force heritage. You matter. Yes, you matter,” Air Force Col. Michael “Boz” Boswell said.
After considering subjects like contested logistics and the importance of airpower for his remarks, Boswell said he settled on his “you matter” theme knowing that the Air Force is nothing without its people.
He grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, with “You’ll never amount to anything” echoing in his head after his 11th grade chemistry teacher spoke the words to him in front of his classmates. He felt lost and constantly struggled to find himself. Most of his friends were drug dealers who died young or are still in prison.
Boswell feared he’d never see the age of 25, but said the grace of God and the grandmother who raised him helped him prevail.
“While I took that negative energy that I was faced with and turned it into something positive, how much more could I have accomplished earlier and sooner if I truly felt like I mattered?” he questioned.
Without its active duty and retired service members, civil servants, and their families, many of the freedoms Americans enjoy today wouldn’t be possible, he continued.
“It’s important that you understand that you matter and, as a leader, you matter that much more,” Boswell said, adding that everyone is a leader formally or informally.
“Each and every one of you holds a key to unlocking others,” he said. “Never forget that people are looking for your validation, for your inspiration and for the fuel for their fire. It’s your words that can make them feel like they’re standing on top of a mountain and your actions that can make them feel like they’re sludging through a valley.”
Publications such as the Journal of Applied Psychology and the Journal of Organizational Behavior highlight the importance of the leader-subordinate relationship by pointing out that 70% of all employees say a boss’s interaction – positive or negative – impacts them, he shared.
“Additionally, 19% of Americans have suffered abusive contact at work,” he said. “And of those 19%, 61% say that their bosses were their bullies.”
Air Force retention rates are high, but Boswell said he’s noticed more commanders being relieved for creating hostile work environments and abusing subordinates. He used a quote from author and poet Maya Angelou to remind employees of the power they have over others: At the end of the day, people won’t remember what you said or did. They’ll remember how you made them feel.
“The key to taking care of your subordinates, I think, is relatively simple. You invest in them emotionally and intellectually. You take the raw talent and shape it. You take the timid voice and amplify it. You take the hidden potential and bring it to light,” he said. “You see them not just as an extension of a tasker, but an individual that matters.”
The ripple effects of making others feel valued can be the tide that turns a battle, he added. “It can save a life, and it can change history.”
DLA Historian Colin Williams also spoke about the Air Force’s creation and lasting impact. The U.S. devoted more resources to manufacturing aircraft than ground or naval systems leading up to the nation’s mobilization for World War II, he said. In 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt shocked military leaders by calling for the construction of 50,000 aircraft a year. Over the next five years, manufacturers produced almost 300,000.
“When the United States decided to form an independent Air Force in 1947, it wasn’t shaving a sprig off the Army to seed a new service but segmenting a fully articulated organization with its own logistics and personnel systems,” Williams said, adding that the service was combat ready from Day One.
All four major airlifts in military history were also the work of the Air Force, he added.
The event included a performance by the Air Force Silent Drill Team and Air Force String Quartet, as well as a ceremonial cake cutting featuring DLA’s oldest and youngest airmen, Col. Jennifer Neris and Tech. Sgt. Kayla Pustejovsky.