Busy year at MacDill, but payoff is mission readiness Published Sept. 3, 2015 By Col. Randal Bright 927th Air Refueling Wing commander MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- What a busy first 13 months here at MacDill. This is the first time that I have written for the Thunderbolt since arriving in July of last year, and that we have not been making ardent preparations for some type of inspection. But as we all know, we do not prepare for inspections; we prepare for mission success. Inspections just take the pulse on that mission success preparedness. During these 13 months we have successfully completed an Air Mobility Command Nuclear Operational Readiness Inspection, an Air Force Reserve Command Unit Effectiveness Inspection/CAPSTONE, and our mission partners also had the same inspection schedule along with some embedded Maintenance Special Interest Items. Take the results of these inspections and use those issues to further your ownership of your shop, flight, squadron, group, and wing by maintaining those programs that you have that are working well and strive to improve those programs that were indicated as could be better. In the end, this will be a better wing(s) and total force team as we will be taking care of the most important asset, our Airmen! Although we have successfully completed our NORI, we still must continue to ensure that this mission is where it should be. From what I have seen in my 13 months here, this is the team that can take that mission to new heights of readiness. YOU have set the standard and I readily expect those standards to be raised as you move forward, just as you have demonstrated. Shortly, we will roll into Labor Day weekend and the 101 Critical Days of Summer for 2015 will be over. Enjoy this quieter time, you've earned it, but remember to make it safe so that you may return to your family, your civilian employer, and Team MacDill! Through the fall, winter and spring campaigns, we have been improving our safety culture in our Air Force, but to lose one member of our Air Force Family is one too many. Continue to stay focused on your activities this fall and take a moment to perform a mental risk analysis before undertaking any activity this fall. This time of year is when most of our units perform a majority of their Fit-to-Fight Assessments. Make sure that you have done your part prior to your assessment. Being physically fit is a requirement of our Air Force, take ownership of yourself and do what you can to maintain your physical fitness so that you are not a liability to your unit, but more importantly, so that you are not a liability to yourself! Thank you for the service that you provide for our nation and I am honored to be your Citizen-Airman commander. Again, enjoy the fall months...you have earned it!