If you set high standards—and you should—then you should live to those standards. Your credibility—and the squadron’s discipline—will likely go out the window the second you start applying double standards or ones that don’t appear reasonable. If you absolutely must deviate, then you owe it to the troops to explain why to prevent misperceptions. Like it or not, the commander is always watched, on and off duty. Think of your bosses. You likely watch them and how they react to all kinds of situations. People want the commander to succeed. But more importantly, they are looking to the boss for leadership and the right way to do things. Here’s where living core values keeps a commander from looking over his shoulder. Living core values also provides a positive example, no matter when people are watching.
Squadron Command Excellence
Roderick C. Zastrow
Lt Colonel, USAF
4 comments:
Col. Zastrow's comments ring hollow, given that he was relieved of his command of the 85th Group in the middle of a Friday night for having an affair with one of his married female subordinates while he, himself, was married.
Anon @ November 29, 2011 1:10 AM
From the 85th Group lineage it appears Colonel Zastrow served a normal tour and went on to positions of greater responsibility on the OSD Staff as the AF Force Development officer. Can you provide something concrete that gives truth to what you said?
Nothing in writing. However, I was in the auditorium on the morning of 11 July, 2004 when Col. Steven Dreyer called a mandatory "all hands" for USAF personnel assigned to NASKEF and the 85th group. Col Steven Dreyer announced that Col Zastrow had been relieved of command, and that the circumstanced involved Col Zastrow and in no way reflected on the members of the 85th group or it's staff. By that time, the movers were already packing Col. Zastrows household good.
Additionally, it is a bit unusual for an O-6 to have his Group command tour abruptly cut shout less than a year in, don't you think?
Up until that point, Col Zastrow was a fast-burning O-6 well on the way to his first star ...
I agree, I was there too in the auditorium. I worked in the command post and from that point on Col Dreyer was my new boss. I saw Col Zastrow at the gas station the next day spending his last couple days on the island. He did move on to bigger things but lost his chance of getting a star.
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