From The Top: Everyone has a role to play as 'communication ambassadors' Published Sept. 14, 2007 By Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley Commander, Air Force Reserve Command WASHINGTON -- I just returned from a visit with the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I am truly proud of the many sacrifices and commitments made by each of you. Every opportunity I get to meet with senior leaders, the general public, the media and Congress, I tell them the great things you are doing for our nation. However, I am only one voice. We need many voices -- acting as my "communication ambassadors" -- to spread the Air Force Reserve message at home and abroad. As a communication ambassador, I need you speaking strategically. In July, I stood up a Strategic Communication Directorate to help organize our efforts. This organization is developing some pretty innovative ways to get information to you in a timely manner, making it easier to keep abreast of our current messages and assessing their impact on intended audiences. My goal is also to arm each of you with our key messages so you can help deliver them to those you come into contact with -- those who impact our quality of life as Air Force Reservists. By delivering these messages, you will play a vital role in shaping how we view ourselves and others see us. You can have an immediate positive impact by helping me spread the word that the term "active duty" is no longer the purview of the regular component. Active duty is a status, and thousands of Reservists are on active duty every day. When you say "active force" or "active component," you are talking about a significant portion of the Reserve and Guard, too. Making this simple but fundamental change in the way we think and talk about one another puts us in the right mindset to support the Air Force as a whole. Why is this important? We need to start speaking clearly about our increased operational role. Long ago we recognized we were no longer a force held in reserve but a force engaged -- an operational force. As we develop further what it means to be operational, it will help us to remember that our Reservists should be counted as part of the "active force" and the "active component," too. This seems like a simple task, but just think how many times we hear someone (including ourselves) use the term "active" to only refer to full-timers in the regular component. Changing this perception requires reminding people that thousands of Reservists are on active duty every day. These Reservists are part of an operational force that helps ensure the Air Force can perform its missions. Another example is using the phrase "Air Force and the Guard and Reserve" in a way that implies that the Guard and Reserve are not part of the Air Force. Title 10 U.S. Code defines the term "Air Force" to include the Guard and Reserve. If we truly believe in our Vision, "One Air Force, Same Fight," then when we use the word "Air Force" it should mean the total uniformed force -- regular, Reserve and Guard. We need to remember we are all part of one Air Force and remind others when we are in the field. When an aircraft breaks on our ramp, we won't ask whether it is a regular component problem or a Reserve problem -- it is an Air Force problem that we will work together to fix. As we all grow into our role as communication ambassadors, we will need to keep our messages clear and on target. All of us can probably recall in grade school our teacher whispering a message into a student's ear and then passing it until the last person in the class repeated the message. We were all surprised how much the original message had changed. This simple lesson should not be lost on us. We need many voices, but we need them carrying the same message. You are going to be my communication ambassadors. I am going to arm you with the messages and the means to communicate for effect. Together we will keep our messages on target while taking another important step in achieving our vision of "One Air Force, Same Fight ... An Unrivaled Wingman."