1 Feb 2012

Mental injuries, illnesses are killers

What would you do if you suffered a broken leg tomorrow? Chances are, you would go to an emergency room, see a doctor, have your leg x-rayed and placed in a cast and get a set of crutches. You wouldn't be back to 100 percent right away, but you could at least function.Now, what would you do if you suffered a broken mind? That answer's not so

19 Jan 2012

Celebrating King's legacy

As a people and as a nation, we have come a long way since the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. King would be proud. But at the same time, we have not yet achieved the point he devoted his life to help our society reach. One of the most significant speeches in our nation's history was the "I Have a Dream" speech, which King delivered Aug.

13 Jan 2012

Cadet reflects on King legacy

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have A Dream" speech, where he expressed hope that one day he would see "little black boys and black girls ... able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." Raised in a generation where blatant racism and

21 Dec 2011

Why building Falcon Circle was 'right thing to do'

Why did the Air Force Academy build an "outdoor Stonehenge" worship area for just a handful of cadets?That's the question some have asked Air Force Academy officials after the Los Angeles Times' Nov. 26 article citing an $80,000 price tag for the Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle: an outdoor worship area used primarily for the observance of Earth-Centered

7 Dec 2011

Pearl Harbor Day reminds us: Remember, honor WWII veterans

When I visited my grandparents the weekend after Sept. 11, 2001, I remember my late grandmother, Clara Hix Clifford, saying to me, "I never thought I'd see something like this again in my lifetime."By "again," she was referring to the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese -- a worldaltering event that remains true to the words of

6 Dec 2011

Support your Falcons in 2011 Military Bowl

This year's football team has earned an incredible leadership opportunity to represent the Academy with an invitation Dec. 4 to the 2011 Military Bowl.The chance to play in a significant bowl game happens because of the terrific accomplishments of our cadets, along with the guidance and backing of the fine leadership of our Academy general officers

28 Nov 2011

Lorenz on Leadership — Life's experiences: luggage or baggage?

Recently, I was invited to speak at the United States Air Force Academy's Class of 2013 Commitment Night dinner. Commitment Night is usually scheduled the day the third classmen (sophomores) return to the Academy and become second classmen (juniors). Up to that very moment they begin their junior year academics they may resign from the Academy and

27 Oct 2011

Duty: the double-edged sword

A 1970 graduate of the Air Force Academy recently asked my opinion about what I thought the Academy is doing well today. He knew I've been serving this past year as The Academy's senior scholar, assigned to the Center for Character and Leadership Development. He also knew that I've never been in the military.Although his question caught me by

24 Aug 2011

Robin Olds: Wolf Pack hero, legacy

KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFNS) -- This historian is hardly the first to declare former Brig. Gen. Robin Olds as the greatest aerial warrior and leader in American history.When learning about his life, it is as if he was made to be the perfect Airman. He was a triple ace who had ideas about tactical air power that were as big as his physique.

24 Aug 2011

Lorenz on Leadership: Leaders, stress and people of faith

Recently I was at a military base when two Air Force chaplains invited me to join them for lunch. We had a nice conversation on many subjects to include stories about leaders they had met over the years. One of the chaplains had just returned from his third tour in Afghanistan where he worked with the Army. The brigade he was assigned to was