Gas Pump Betty
It was a snowy day atMisawa Air Base, located in Northern Japan, when I finished pumping gas andglanced in my rear-view mirror and saw the strangest thing. I saw a young ladyhysterically pacing back and forth around the back of her car! She would go tothe left rear, then to the right rear, and back. She would open her driver’sdoor and look around towards the floorboard and then circle the rear again.Next thing I saw, the fuel door popped open. After that, she took out a debitcard and started pressing buttons on the gas pump. For at least two minutesshe stood and stared at the gas pump. At this moment, I thought she waseither high or drunk. Finally, she puther card in the slot and lifted the gas pump handle and pointed it toward hercar. She then put the gas pump handle back into the holder. With this last action I had to interveneto see what the issue might be.
As I slowly andhesitantly reached her, the car, and the unused gas pump, I introduced myselfby name and rank and asked her if she was having issues pumping gas. She statedthat she had just gotten her license, just purchased the car, and had no ideahow to pump gas. I asked her if she had contacted anyone in her work centeror friends. She stated that no one talked to her outside of work, and thatat work, they only talked to her when absolutely necessary.
At this moment my jawstarted to tighten, and I started to sweat from my brow out of anger.I was reminded of a phrase that an old Vietnam War veteran said to me when Ireturned home from basic training. The phrase was, “We send boys off to thearmed forces and when they return, they return as men.” Now there is theobvious reasoning in that statement that the experiences of war will make aperson mature really quickly, but also, we ask something of our NoncommissionedOfficers that no other profession on other Earth asks their members--that is toraise America’s sons and daughters.
America has gifted us itsmost precious asset--its sons and daughters, in defense ofthe constitution and its interests. And if need be, they will sacrifice theirlives for our nation. Those sons and daughters may come from the most idealsituations and to the contrary, they may have come from the worst upbringingsimaginable. Either way, America has given them to us to train, guide, mentor,develop, teach how to make a bed, wash clothes, and balance a budget…haveconversations about tough issues such as sexually transmitted diseases, badcredit, home buying, illegal drug use, underaged drinking, drinking whiledriving, responsible choices, and yes, how to purchase and operate a motor vehicle.Whatever conversation should or needs to be had, America is trusting us todo it.
Even though thissituation is military based, the civilian sector has steadily been trendingtowards whole-life leadership as well. You can often hear Chief ExecutiveOfficers creating initiatives and culture to ensure their folks have theessential skills to navigate life. Why, because it impacts the bottom line, andmore importantly, it’s what you do for a team member. Nowadays, I referto America’s daughters as “Gas Pump Betty” when sharing this story. As I amhumbled to continue to connect, lead, mentor, and guide Airmen, I will neverforget that snowy day on Misawa where I had to play the role of a dad or bigbrother to someone in need. I will never forget what America is asking of usmilitary leaders in caring for their most precious asset, its sons anddaughters.
Editor’s Note: Lorenzo Livingston is a recently selected Chief Master Sergeant in theUnited States Air Force. He serves as an Operations Flight Leader in the 11thCivil Engineer Squadron on Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. He holds two associatedegrees, a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, and a master’s degree inLeadership.