lessonslearned Saving Face A 72 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2012


When a young captain picks the wrong mission to refuel, his director of operations takes some fl ak from a three-star but chooses the high road in his criticism.


As a young navigator in the Strategic Air Command at Eielson AFB, Alaska, I was working as the wing mission schedul- ing offi cer. One day, we had two refueling missions scheduled simultaneously, but because of maintenance problems, only one KC-135 tanker was available. One mission was a C-141 hauling fresh food to the Aleutian Island bases and Japan. The other was a training mission supporting fi ghters out of Elmendorf AFB. Ordinarily, a captain would approve with the director of operations (DO) something aff ecting missions outside our wing. However, the DO was nowhere to be found, and the wing’s other colonels were off -station. So I chose to apply my one tanker to the grocery run. I was happy with myself for making a good operational decision, and I fi gured I would tell the boss later that morning. My elation lasted about


outside for perhaps 10 minutes. He made it clear to me that canceling a refueling out- side the wing was a colonel-level decision and that I could have coordinated instruc- tions to the cargo plane to land at Elmen- dorf AFB to get fuel. There was no doubt in my mind he did


not expect ever again to explain to a three- star why we failed to support his mission. I said, “Yes, sir” a lot, and I remember that my boots were shiny, and I was glad of that. Once the corrective session was con- cluded, he went to the door. He opened it, and as the people in the hall waited to see if anything was left of me, he turned, smiled, and said — loud enough for them to hear — “I wish you had called me. But I’d have done the same thing.” So, even though I had been chastised, what the people in the hall — and I — heard


an hour. The DO walked in, hotter than a two- dollar pistol, and barked, “Everybody but Captain Pfaff , get out.” The other people in the offi ce scurried into the hall. He had just received a call from one of the fi ghter pilots, a lieutenant general, who re- ally wanted that refueling to maximize his training fl ight. The general had a piece of the DO because the tanker was canceled. I fumbled, “But, sir, I tried to call you … ” The DO had been in a high-security area, away from a phone, and had left his radio


boundaries


was a positive ending. My initiative and enthusiasm were undamaged, but I learned about boundaries — and expectations. It was a lesson that was handy in every super- visory position I held. MO


— James M. Pfaff is a retired Air Force colonel. He lives in Grove City, Ohio. For submission infor- mation, see page 6.


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