Winning teams headed to success

  • Published
  • By Brig. Gen. Greg Touhill
  • 81st Training Wing commander
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISS. --  The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading back to the Super Bowl to face the amazing Arizona Cardinals in what may prove to be one of the most entertaining games in championship history. I'm from Pittsburgh and my wife is an Arizona State graduate, so you can bet our divided household will be watching the game with great interest. You can also bet that I'll be wearing my black and gold to support my hometown Steelers! 

How did the Steelers get to the game? It goes well beyond the playoff victories against the San Diego Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens. It goes beyond the long 16-game season. The Steelers, like their Super Bowl predecessors, got to the Super Bowl through relentless preparation and attention to detail. Starting in training camp, the players and coaches became experts in their playbook, knowing inside and out their blocking and tackling assignments. They knew who was going to have the ball and how to support them. They knew the defensive schemes to thwart the attacks of their adversaries. They memorized their playbooks ... their policies and procedures ... and took their game to the field. 

On the field, they executed their playbook with precision. With a 12-4 record, it's obvious they did it well, yet in the aftermath of those four losses, they adjusted and refined themselves to execute the playbook even better. The result? They now stand on the cusp of earning their sixth Super Bowl championship. 

Are you ready for your Super Bowl? Like the Cardinals and the Steelers, do you know the playbook, our Air Force instructions and Department of Defense regulations? Are you relentless in your effort to execute with precision? Do you coach your subordinates on how to do their tasks the right way, every time? As we approach our Logistics Standardization and Evaluation Team inspection next month, it's time for all of us to buckle the chin strap, go over the playbook and ready ourselves. Everyone will contribute and everyone needs to do their part in bringing the team to success. 

I think the Steelers stand an excellent chance to win that sixth Super Bowl and emerge as champions once again. You too can be a champion in whatever you do. How? Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Noll, who led the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories in the 1970s, was asked by then-assistant Tony Dungy how to become a champion. His words of advice ring true for all of us, "You become a champion by doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way, every day." 

You have what it takes to be a champion. Let's break open our playbooks, become experts in our policies, have rock-solid processes and checklists, and execute them with precision! Let's take Team Keesler to our championship!