Lt. Gen. North visits Tinker, talks teamwork

Published Aug. 21, 2008
By Brandice Armstrong
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., -- Tinker's senior leaders received some outside advice Monday when Lt. Gen. Gary North delivered several messages. Speaking to a packed Anaconda Room in Bldg. 3001, during the Senior Leader Forum, General North, 9th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Central commander, addressed the primary objectives of Maj. Gen. Loren Reno, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center commander. He said they include supporting the warfighter, suppliers, stewardship, safety, quality and the OC-ALC team.

He also expressed thanks to all Airmen supporting the global war on terror, particularly those in the air logistics center and the 552nd Air Control Wing, who see the fruits of their labor firsthand.

"From my perspective, as the AFCENT commander and Combined Force Air Control Component commander, what is provided in support to our combat fight in Iraq and Afghanistan from this air logistics center and other centers in our Air Force is critical to our fight," the general said. "I'm here to talk about the current fights, your leadership and to say 'thanks.' That 'thanks' is very important because there are thousands of great Americans here doing fabulous work every day."

The senior leader forum is an initiative introduced by General Reno to expose senior Tinker leaders to other senior Air Force and Department of Defense members and hear their experiences and advice.

General North said the Air Force is comprised of military, civilians and contractors. Together, we are the base of a pyramid. To keep the pyramid tip from crumbling, everyone must work together.

General North used a football analogy to further illustrate his point.
He said most everyone knows the name of a Super Bowl champion's quarterback, but there are thousands of others who are just as important and are nameless players. Without them - the vendors, towel distributors in the locker room, tackle and guard - there wouldn't be a football game, just as there wouldn't be a stable pyramid base.
To have a cohesive team, General North said members have to be groomed and cultivated.

"You can't do anything without a team, and you have to grow them," the general said. "That means you have to nurture them, you've got to water them, you've got to pat them on the back, sometimes you have to give them that gentle nudge along the way, and you've got to do things just like you're doing right here: senior leadership meetings."
To nurture leadership, General North introduced several ideas. Among them are guide and intent; don't confuse enthusiasm with capability; make them accountable but manage their accounts; and be brief, but debrief to win.

If leadership isn't nurtured, the general said the results could be devastating.
"In the fight we're in and the fight you are supporting every day, the enemy is planning and preparing in today's time," he said. "If we don't stay ahead of them, then we're going to let the enemy plan in their time, with tough results, which is not something we want to do."

In closing, the general said teamwork, like a football game, is about everyone because they make organizations work.

"It's the people that come to work every day that are committed that understand their capability, that have the courage to stay in the game and do the right things, and enable the product and the processes to go out across the fence to do what we need them to do," he said.

At the conclusion of the forum, General Reno presented General North with a hardback copy of "Quiet Strength" by Tony Dungy.

"The title reminds me of a leader I've come to know and respect in the last 10 years," General Reno said, "[you're] definitely quiet but there's no doubt about your strength."