Commentary: The values, standards to live by every day, on or off-duty Published June 6, 2013 By Lt Col David A. Emery 749 Aircraft Maintenance Squadron TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Air Force environment, whether at home station or forward deployed, encompasses the actions, values and standards we live by each and every day, whether on or off-duty says AFI 1-1, Air Force Standards. AFI 1-1 also states that the Air Force Core Values are Integrity First, Service Before Self and Excellence In All We Do. Integrity is a character trait. It is the willingness to do what is right even when no one else is looking. How many times have we heard that; Integrity is the willingness to do what is right even when no one else is looking? I've heard it numerous times throughout my Air Force career, and it is indeed a true axiom that guides our actions every day, in our actions, in times of extreme stress and moral uncertainty, especially when deployed to a combat environment. Service Before Self tells us that professional duties take precedence over personal desires. Our core values define our standards of conduct. However, I am still stunned by the relative moralism that is still occasionally prevalent. While the vast majority of Airmen truly live an honest, purposeful life with a career richly steeped in moral certainty, it is the very few reflected in the media that paint the Air Force in a terrible light. While the level of sexual assaults in the U.S. is still appallingly high (every two minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted), the actual number of sexual assaults has fallen by more than 60 percent from 2006-2010, according to the Department of Justice. What is troubling is, while the number of sexual assaults are dropping in the civilian environment, they appear to be rising in the Air Force. What we need to ask ourselves is why, especially in light of the importance we place upon the core values which guide us in personal and professional relationships, the performance of our duties and ultimately, the faith the American people place in us; their guardians. Why are there so many incidents of sexual assault committed by Air Force members prevalent in the media? Are we becoming burned out from the ops tempo of ten years of combat operations? Are we turning a blind eye when we see something we should say something about? Or is it just certain morally bankrupt individuals? Col. Nancy Brooks, 349th Mission Support Group commander, had a very good article regarding resiliency in the May 3 issue of the Tailwind. Col. Brooks said that "Resilience is a mindset or set of skills that allow us to bounce back after trauma, failure and setback." I read a very good article several years' back that described an individual's daily resiliency as finite. In other words, each of us only has a certain amount of resiliency. The more we tap into that reserve for everyday issues, the less we have in store for when we have to make a truly challenging decision. With that, the more likely we will make an incorrect decision, the more likely we will be swayed by relative moralism, the more likely we would be swayed by morally corrupt individuals. The article went on to describe the best practice to keep an individual's resilience reserve as high as possible for when he/she really needs it, is to simply live a morally correct life style as much as possible. In other words, live the Air Force core values on and off-duty. That way, when you are faced with a moral choice, it will be easier to make the correct decision because your resistance will be higher. You won't give in easily because you more willingly want to do what is right for yourself, your fellow Airmen, and for your country.