COMMENTARY: Everything rises or falls on our integrity

  • Published
  • By Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Timothy Porter
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing chaplain
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  The most important Air Force core value to me is Integrity First. Have you personally reflected on what this means or how critical integrity is in your life?

Merriam-Webster's definition of integrity is the quality of being honest and adhering to strong moral principles; moral uprightness; the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished. 

Consider a personal example to shed light on this definition. When I was a poor college student, someone gave me a 1974 Chevy Vega. I should have been suspicious when he cautioned me to check the oil whenever I filled up with gasoline (some "gifts" come with a dark side). The car looked somewhat sporty and the gas mileage was exceptional, however, looks can be deceiving. The engine had major mechanical defects and over time, it burned oil so badly that a trail of gray smoke followed me wherever I drove. I distinctly remember stopping at a red traffic light and while I waited for the light to change, a cloud of smoke surrounded me and the other cars beside me. It looked like there was a barbecue competition in my trunk. I was afraid the local fire department was going to show up before the light turned green. It was embarrassing to say the least.

That car really lacked integrity. It looked better than it performed and it had a hidden flaw. The same can be said of our personal life. When we lack integrity, sooner or later it becomes evident to those looking on. The "smoke" of our misdeeds starts to appear - the misbehavior emerges.

I'm thankful that integrity is a character quality that is a bottom line standard in our Air Force culture. The old statement, "What goes TDY, stays TDY," is no longer an acceptable philosophy because sooner or later, what we did in private will rear its ugly head in public and then, relationships are damaged and the mission suffers. C.S. Lewis said, "Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching."  Our military leaders recognize that doing the right thing all the time is critically essential.

Integrity is maintained when we consistently adhere to a personal code of conduct. What is your personal, internal code that directs your conduct? Is it your religious beliefs; the 10 Commandments; the Golden Rule - "do unto others as you would want them to do to you;" the Air Force motto - "treat people with dignity and respect;" or Air Force core values? Whatever they are, they become your guide and conscience and they influence your decisions when tempted to violate the law of integrity first.

Leadership expert, Dr. John Maxwell, discusses how our personal code of conduct works, "We struggle daily with situations that demand decisions between what we want to do and what we ought to do. Integrity establishes the ground rules for resolving these tensions. It (integrity) determines who we are and how we will respond before the conflict even appears. Integrity welds what we say, think, and do, into a whole person so that permission is never granted for any of these to be out of sync."    

When truthfulness and honesty are our way of life, they protect us and we never find ourselves hoping our spouse, friends, or supervisor discovers who the person behind our mask really is. As motivational speaker and author Zig Ziglar writes, "With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity, you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt."

I've attended many Air Force ceremonies and they always end with the Air Force song. The final stanza says, "Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!"  Often the thought goes through my mind, "Yes, our weapon systems and technology are the best in the world, however, if we who operate the systems lack integrity, we are in trouble. Our own duplicity can be our downfall."

Everything rises or falls on our integrity. Maintaining integrity first is each Airman's personal responsibility. When we consistently practice integrity first, we can each be counted upon, trusted, and together our relationships flourish and we take the mission to a whole new level.