COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, 3rd Air Force Commander from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, offered words of advice to Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 18-03 during their graduation ceremony here Dec. 15.
Clark began by thanking the families and instructors of the new pilots. He said the Air Force’s newest aviators would not be here if it wasn’t for the support and dedication of those who helped them along the way.
“[Col. Douglas Gosney, 14th Flying Training Wing Commander] took a saying I love, ‘If you see a turtle sitting on a fence post you know it didn’t get there by itself,’” Clark said.
Clark then talked about the three phases of commitment and how the new pilots have only had a small dose.
The first phase is the “say it” phase, he said. This phase is where someone will say a promise out loud to the world and everyone who will listen because then their word, reputation and credibility is on the line. He used the oaths of office and enlistment as examples of saying a commitment aloud.
The next phase is the “do it” phase. Clark said now that the commitment has been said out loud, they have to do it. It takes some action to prove that someone means it.
He gave the example of if a boxer is going to be the world champion, he has to take the first step in initiating his goal and then the second step by challenging the current champion.
“Your ‘do it’ phase is right here, right now,” Clark said. “You going through pilot training, 54 weeks of terror in some cases for your instructors, for a lot of you it was the hardest thing you have ever done. But you showed everybody that you are willing to put it out there and take the first steps.”
The last phase is the “own it” phase. He said this is the hardest phase because when you own it, no matter how hard the challenge you are going to step up and live up to the commitment you made.
Clark gave the example of marriage. He said you first get engaged by saying it, get married by saying “I do,” then you own it by sticking it out when times get hard.
After the graduation, Clark had a few words for Airmen who couldn’t make it to the ceremony. He said he knows that pilot production is a team effort and there were many Airmen involved in ensuring the safety and success of the new pilots.
“The pilots that got produced here are not just a product of the instructor pilots,” Clark said. “Every person in this wing played a significant role in helping them to get where they are.”