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Monday, November 30, 2020
COMAFSOC Continues Conversations on Race in the Military
Air Force Special Operations Commander, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jim Slife, joined a multi-part discussion on race in the military hosted by the Center for a New American Security on Nov. 17, 2020. The podcast took a deep dive into the Air Force's efforts to address diversity and inclusion through fostering honest conversations, emphasizing the importance of inclusion, and building the next generation of leaders. Panelists included a generational span of Air Force leaders including U.S. Air Force Lt. Col.
Tuesday, September 01, 2020AFSOC Unfiltered Episode 6
Written by Lt. Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife, Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida The “N-word” It's a hateful word that draws upon a history of pain and suffering. What do we do with this word? Is anyone allowed to invoke the word in its full form? Does it matter if it ends in an "-a" versus an "-er?" Is it okay in art or music? Can I say it if I'm relaying the story we heard in our last episode? I hope you understand why I am curious.Listen and watch here. I am a senior
Tuesday, September 01, 2020AFSOC Unfiltered Episode 7
Written by Lt. Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife, Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida It's all about "diversity of thought"...or is it? In this episode of AFSOC Unfiltered, Lt Col Chivis and I cover a broad waterfront: the "onion of identity"; diversity of thought; being the only XXX in the room; representing an entire category of people. As I reviewed this episode, I found myself laughing out loud at several points. In addition to being a great officer, Lt Col Chivis is a
Monday, August 17, 2020AFSOC Unfiltered: Conforming...or Assimilating? - Episode 3
Written by Lt. Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife, Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida In this episode of “AFSOC Unfiltered,” Lt. Col. Chivis and I talk about what it takes to be part of our Air Force and the expectations leaders have of their Airmen. At one point, Lt. Col. Chivis recalls an exchange he and I had some years ago during which I rather cavalierly informed him of a set of unwritten expectations...which were more about my unconscious bias than they were about Air
Monday, August 17, 2020AFSOC Unfiltered: An Airman's Experience With Inclusion - Episode 4
Written by Lt. Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife, Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida The Air Force is a great organization, made up of great people. That's why I'm about 30 years into a 4-year commitment. I love what I do, I love the people with whom I do it, and I love the reason why we do it. I've always thought of the Air Force as a meritocracy, where we all have the same opportunities to succeed. While that may largely be true, I've come to see that being a part of a
Monday, August 17, 2020AFSOC Unfiltered: Being Black in America - Episode 5
Written by Lt. Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife, Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida In this episode of AFSOC Unfiltered, we continue our journey into the topic of our Airmen's experiences with race with a few challenging conversations.Listen and watch here. WARNING: there is some use of "the N word" in this episode and we touch on the concept of "white privilege" as well. This episode is not for the faint of heart... Maybe just reading this is what we'll discuss is already
Thursday, July 30, 2020AFSOC Unfiltered: The ''Best Qualified Trap'' - Episode 2
Written by Lt. Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife, Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida We're back again for another episode of "AFSOC Unfiltered," where Lt. Col. Myron Chivis and I talk about our journey together on the topic of race. In our last episode, we broadly discussed the direction and purpose of AFSOC Unfiltered. This episode provides more context on how I met Lt. Col. Chivis and why I wanted him on my team.Listen and watch here. Picking the people who we want on our
Wednesday, July 29, 2020AFSOC Unfiltered: Listen, Learn, Lead - Episode 1
Written by Lt. Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife, Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida We continue to listen and learn so we can be better leaders for ALL our teammates. Some weeks ago, I spent several hours with my former executive officer, Lt Col Myron Chivis. Lt Col Chivis and I talked about our ten-year journey together and some of what we've learned from one another on the topic of race.Listen and watch here. This is the first of several episodes; more will be coming in
