Force shaping, one lieutenant's morale Published Jan. 30, 2006 By 1st Lt. Kristen D. Duncan 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Balance the officer and enlisted corps. That is the current need of the Air Force. I've been told from day one, the “needs of the Air Force” come first.What happens when those needs mean the loss of my job -- and not just my job, but a career of integrity, service and excellence? I vowed to protect the Constitution. To continue what my father and the greatest generation did in World War II. I am truly a patriot. I am an Airman.With force shaping, Air Force leadership is undertaking the very difficult task of reducing its forces. Brig. Gen. Kathleen Close, the Air Force Material Command director of installations and mission support, said the leadership knows they could be losing a future commander or a future general, but the Air Force can no longer support the imbalance of officers to enlisted troops.To support the mission, the service has to reduce its 2002 and 2003 lieutenants through volunteer or forced separations.That equals more than 4,000 young, promising lieutenants.Working on various projects, I have to wonder, will any of this mean anything if I'm force-shaped? Will I still be able to lead my troops? Is my morale going to take a nose dive? What if I work harder than I've ever worked to impress the heck out of every commander I've ever met? How do I keep focused on my job and my mission?The answer is really quite simple. We should all work harder, not to impress for fear of losing our jobs, but because we are all officers who strive for excellence. We should continue to accomplish our jobs with the same unfailing performance and the same can-do attitude we've always had.We should continue to work hard for our shops, our troops, our families, our nation and ourselves.In one of the hardest hit career fields, I've examined all my options and have come up with a few ideas: navigator training, Palace Chase and even switching services. Thankfully, the Air Force is giving us options. I've come to realize, though, that serving my country means serving its needs. The needs of the Air Force must always come first.I hope to make a career of the “blue.” But even if my activeduty career is cut short, it is for the mission of the Air Force and the U.S. military that I will serve and honorably discharge.It could be my last act on active-duty. But I am, and will always be, an Airman.