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JBSA News
NEWS | Jan. 19, 2007

Like Dr. King, AF serves greater good

By James Coburn 37th Training Wing Public Affairs

The commander of the Air Force's largest training wing, welcoming 222 people to a commemorative service Jan. 11 honoring Martin Luther King Jr., said, "Dr. King believed in service and in bringing everyone together to serve something greater than themselves. That's what we all do in the United States Air Force."

Brig. Gen. Darrell Jones, commander of the 37th Training Wing at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, continued by saying, "Dr. King believed that service is a great equalizer, and I believe that."

He thanked the large audience for taking time out of their day to recognize the contributions of the late civil rights leader.

The general lauded Dr. King's dream of racial and religious equality for all, but conceded, "We're not there yet. We need to continue to make the Air Force and make the United States the last great meritocracy on earth, where we don't care where you come from, where we don't care how you sound, where we don't care what you look like -- we care what you provide to this nation and your fellow man."

The guest speaker for the service was Bradley Scott, Ph.D., senior education associate of the Intercultural Development Research Association, who said Dr. King's dreams and visions "are still relevant to our time."

Dr. Scott, longtime director of the Lackland Inspirational Gospel Ensemble that sang during the service, thanked General Jones "for saying we still have a ways to go" to achieve the ideals of Dr. King.

"What Dr. King was challenging us to do," Dr. Scott said, "was that if we're going to exercise moral leadership in the world, we better look within and at ourselves and clean up our own houses."