HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- Winter is flying by us with hardly a peep. It's hard to believe we were standing in 30 inches of snow this time last year!

Without all the snow, make sure you get out and enjoy lots of great events going on around base. The Tavern at the Minuteman Commons is hosting the "Big Game" party starting at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5. Speaking of the Commons, did you know they now have pizza and are delivering? Come on up and give it a try! We also have African American Heritage Month events going on this month, including a trip to Cape Cod Saturday, Feb. 4, to visit the African American Museum there. Contact Dr. Quincy Mosby at 781-225-5055 for details.

I had the honor of attending a retirement and a promotion ceremony just a few hours apart from each other this week. During the invocation, the chaplain remarked on the inevitable change that these milestones bring for people. As I reflected on this, I realized that for those of us in uniform, accepting and embracing change is a fundamental part of who we are. During your time in the military you will change rank, change supervisors, change work centers and change bases. You will most likely change your career specialty at least once and you will absolutely depart the Air Force at some point, bringing more change to your life.

As you listen to the news these days, you will hear a great deal of flurry about pending change due to reduced budgets. And we have lots of water cooler chatter about what those changes will mean to us personally or to the work we have been performing most recently.

I would encourage you to remember that as military members you thrive on change, you live for change and you love change! Okay, so maybe that is a slight exaggeration. We usually like change better when we plan it ourselves versus when it is handed to us. But it is our responsibility to provide the best capability we can for our nation within the available resources. So we need everyone to stay focused on how we can produce the best capability for our nation right here from Hanscom.

I read several quotes on change recently, but these two caught my eye. The first quote, attributed to Jim Rohn, reminds me change will be worth it.

"Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change."

This well-known quote by Theodore Roosevelt reminds me to get off my duff and get busy!

"The best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing."

Thank you for all you do to serve your nation!