One of my proudest accomplishments in my life is that I have volunteered faithfully with the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol. I volunteer as a career counselor and have been doing this for over nine years. We follow the Air Force’s curricula so we can advance. Civil Air Patrol has a Cadet program for youth 12-18, and we fulfill three missions: Emergency Services, Aerospace Education, and Cadet Programs.

On one of my first missions as a Lieutenant, I was tasked with being a Finance/Administration Section Chief. This person looks at the money and manpower being spent on the mission in accordance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Incident Management System (NIMS) model.

The Incident Commander was a seasoned but friendly Civil Air Patrol member. He had led hundreds of missions but also had the humility to know he had to train a cadre behind him. We were a little short on people based on the NIMS model, so he was cool with letting me report to him directly vis-à-vis instead of through an intermediary.

Many people were asking him what he needed, a constant stream throughout the weekend. His responses were usually easy if you had the skill. If you didn’t have the skill, then someone would teach you. Responses varied from “do a radio check with search team #3” to “find out if the search dog had something to eat” to “I need to know when so-and-so is expected to arrive.”

When I reached a natural pause in my work, I asked him what he needed. He told me, “Lieutenant Nussbaum, I’ve been offered so many bagels, so many weather reports, and so many hands to shake. I really just need three minutes to stand up from behind this computer to go to the bathroom!”

So, the big takeaway for me was that no matter how many people you have under your charge, or how trained they are, that you have to take care of yourself!

This was written by our contributing writer, Joshua Nussbaum.