This is who we are

As a professional pilot I hold certain responsibilities. Professional pilots have an obligation to ensure the safety of the public through obtaining a high degree of skill and forming sound judgment. We also have a responsibility to other professional pilots who depend on us to follow established practices and policies. Every crew member aboard depends on each other also. We must all have sound leadership skills and form a solid, cohesive, team. This does not mean each crew member must be a leader, but rather possess core traits of a leader. These traits can be learned, but without them the result is nothing short of what can be described as a "sloppy" crew member. This is one reason why former military personnel make great crew members aboard commercial aircraft. Not all former military personnel become pilots, but even their presence in the cabin can have a direct impact on an entire crew if they possess the core leadership traits.

We also have a responsibility to our companies. Obviously they have entrusted us with the responsibilities associated with the safe conduct of flight, but it does not stop there. Just as the police are the first form of governmental contact the public has, crew members are the first form of contact the flying public has with company management. No, we are not the managers of the company, but as pilots we do accept the responsibility to uphold and make decisions which are in the best interest of our company's management team. The direct impact we have on passengers lives is a responsibility we do not downplay. We recognize the reasons passengers are flying. I have often thought of an airport as the only place in the world where you can stand in a terminal and see people walking by who represent every emotional state a human can be in. From the trajic to the happiest of times, not even a hospital can match the diversity of emotional and social reasons why people are there.

What that all means to me is that I have an obligation to my family, passengers, company, and fellow crew members to always observe the highest level of standards possible, never allow myself to be emotionally or physically compromised prior to accepting any flight, maintain the highest level of knowledge and proficiency, and never let any personal needs come before that of my duties and responsibilities as a crewmember.

These are the things that make us who we are. These are the things that drive myself to never settle for anything less than my personal best. Of all the things I have tried to describe, I know I cannot do adequate justice to what this job is all about, but to sum it up with the simple truth: Unhappily, I possess neither that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor to tell you all that they mean to me.