Chief of Air Force, AM Houston, receives the Air Force Values Statement from LACW Carol Chu (Amberley), CPL Colin Muller (Edinburgh) and FSGT 'Salty' Pepper (Canberra), representing the members of the Air Force Values Teams which contributed to its creation.

Earlier this year, six Values Teams throughout Australia, in concert with the Air Force Senior Leadership Team, helped to inform and shape the revised Value Statement for the Air Force. Why was this necessary you may ask? As members of the Air Force we are all familiar with the Air Force Values that hang on walls at every unit throughout Australia. There was and is nothing wrong with these values as they were represented, however they were seldom developed from more than a list of words on the wall. Therefore, it is time to take them down.

Values must live through the behaviour of the organisation and its people. Therefore, the organisation and its people must have ownership of those values. The Values Teams allowed the voice of Air Force personnel to shape the way our values are described through the new Air Force values statement. The challenge is now to live those values through the way we all behave, regardless of where we are or what we do in the Air Force. In short, I expect the Air Force to be Values Driven and Results Focused. But this is nothing new.

On this, the year of the 80th anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force, it is necessary to reflect on where we have come from as the basis for where we will go in the future. In the past, as now, we have been defined through the values represented by our behaviour. For example, in World War II at Milne Bay, Air Force ground and aircrew found ways to overcome both difficult and primitive conditions in an environment of direct personal danger. The professionalism and innovation they exhibited directly contributed to the first defeat of the Japanese in the Pacific. Similarly, the commitment to continue fighting in spite of heavy losses in the European Bomber Campaign demonstrated the dedication and courage of our personnel serving both with RAF and RAAF squadrons.

The people who have served before us have shown the way for a 'Values based, results focused' Air Force. We who follow have much to live up to.

We need to emulate their teamwork, courage, dedication, excellence and esprit de corps that ensured operational success in so many different circumstances in all parts of the world over the last 80 years. However, whilst our nation is not threatened, we must also do this in the context of balancing our work/family commitments. We also need to establish a climate of open and honest communication in which each of us can contribute our voice to the future of the Air Force.

Fundamentally, we need to demonstrate leadership and behaviour that is consistent with the enduring values of our great Service.

These values do not only appear in times of conflict. They are reflected every day in the way we treat our people and do our business. They are the basis for the way we live our lives.

I will demonstrate my commitment to the values by the way I behave and the way I command the Air Force. I expect commanders and leaders at all levels to do likewise. Our values also define the way we should relate to each other. I therefore expect the leaders of the Air Force at all levels to model our values through their behaviour. Values are not a new age fad, they are the fundamentals by which the Air Force has been defined for 80 years. They will continue to be so through their manifestation in the way we behave with each other and with all those with whom we interact. I now entrust the Air Force values to each of you.
Angus Houston
Air Marshal
Chief of Air Force