Excellence and Leadership with Air Force Lt. Col. Oliver Lause

I’m Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Lause. I’m an Airman and a Fighter Pilot in the United States Air Force. 

The mission of the Air Force is to fly, fight and win – airpower anytime, anywhere. Supporting the national security and defense strategies, your Air Force helps advance an international order conducive to our security and prosperity. Whether it’s peacetime operations, strategic competition, or in active conflicts…Airmen defend our nation as apolitical practitioners of defense. We fulfill these obligations through Global Vigilance, Reach, and Power.

Vigilance…Reach…and Power. These represent the Air Force’s ability to make sense of operating environments…provide indications and warnings of enemy activity to our decision makers and the other services…and rapidly project military power to every corner of the globe, while holding any target at risk with speed and precision.

The Air Force values are integrity…service… and excellence. They reflect our commitment to each other and to causes larger than ourselves. Courage underwrites these values. We are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to accomplish our missions. But we do not serve and take these risks alone. We do it knowing our fellow service members are alongside us, our Allies and Partners are ready to give the same, and the sacrifices we make are worthy of our nation and loved ones.

I’ve had the great fortune to fly fighters in the Pacific and Europe…on combat missions in Afghanistan…and for homeland defense alert missions here in the U.S. The privilege of my career thus far was commanding an F-16 squadron in South Korea…filled with the finest pilots and support personnel in our nation. The journey has taught me just how fragile this thing we call global security is…and why it requires selfless, dedicated volunteers to defend. 

We build and maintain our readiness through three simple things…trust…teamwork…and training. Trust, as the great Secretary George Shultz said, is the coin of the realm. This sets the foundation for healthy and productive relationships which foster the teamwork essential to integrate the talents of our people, the services, and their capabilities. And finally, we maintain a laser focus day in and day out on training…constantly sharpening our warfighting edge to deter and defeat adversaries when the nation calls.

Why choose the Air Force and national security not just as a career, but my profession? We live in the greatest country on Earth. Unequivocally, our system…with its foundations in individual freedom, the rule of law, and shared powers…provides the capacity to get things right. Do we always succeed in that endeavor on the first try? No. We are a work in progress…always have been. But our capability to change…to improve…that’s something worth defending…worth fighting for…and worth risking our lives for as members of the military.