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Warfighting ethos: pride, valor, The Airman’s Creed

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. William Banton
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affai
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Editors note: Warfighting ethos is a multipart series highlighting the Airman’s Creed from the perspective of Shaw Air Force Base first sergeants. All statements should be viewed as each individuals opinion and not as the Air Force as a whole.


“I am an American Airman.
I am a warrior.
I have answered my nation’s call.”

Since 2007 the call to arms which is the Airman’s Creed has permeated the Air Force’s esprit de corps and core values, while providing Airmen with a statement of beliefs fueled by heritage and pride.

Retired Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley, former chief of staff of the Air Force, described the Airman’s Creed as a blinding flash of obvious, which concisely verbalizes the warfighting spirit that exists in Airmen, past and present.

“I consider it a guideline, which is why I have it in my office,” said Senior Master Sgt. Keith Rivers, 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron first sergeant. “It’s kind of a road map, like the very basics on why we do what we do, what we stand for and what we are about. It’s four simple paragraphs that basically outline the commitment we have to one another and to the Air Force.

Prior to 2007 the Air Force had become an organization of highly specialized and technically capable experts with an emphasis on technical proficiency more than an overall focus on the warfighting mission, Rivers said.

“It actually gives you word for word on how (your) everyday interaction affects the nation and gives (you) something to go by,” said Master Sgt. James White, Component Maintenance Squadron first sergeant. “When I shout it, it gives me pride. When I say the Airman’s Creed I am talking about myself, the things I have experienced, what my friends and fellow coworkers have been, through and the people (who came) before me.”

“My mission is to fly, fight and win.”

Imagine a squadron of Airmen in formation, Rivers explains as an example of what the creed means to him. Now picture the noncommissioned officer in charge calling for formation sizing and saying “if you are taller than the Airman in front of you, tap and move forward.”

“That says to me that it doesn’t matter what rank you are, we all wear the same uniform and we should have the same common interest, which is to fly, fight and win,” Rivers said. “That’s the common goal for all of us; it doesn’t matter what (your) career field, it’s to fly, fight and win.”

As an Air Force, our mission is to launch aircraft, White said. No matter what, we are going to fight to the end and win. However, even though some Airmen may not directly touch the aircraft, the process they do enable the planes to fly.

Moseley’s intent for the creed is in consensus with White’s sentiment. In 2007, he described the creed as a collaborative effort designed to resonate with all Airmen.

"This (Airman's Creed) is wrapping ourselves in who we are and in our culture," Moseley said in 2007. "It matters in everything we do from the organizational structure of a wing to our acquisition systems and from how we train to how we deploy. Everything about us is wrapped around our notion of American airpower. The warfighting ethos is a mindset."

Additional reporting by Master Sgt. Mitch Gettle, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs.