(1) Assumptions
The following important assumptions govern the Core Values Strategy:
1. The Core Values Strategy exists independently of and does not compete with Chapel programs. {The Core Values Strategy attempts no explanation of the origin of the Values except to say that all of us, regardless of our religious views, must recognize their functional importance and accept them for that reason. Infusing the Core Values is necessary for successful mission accomplishment.}
2. You don’t need to be a commander in order to be a leader.
3. The leader of an organization is key to its moral climate. {As does the commander, so does the organization. But a commander must enlist and insist upon the help of all organizational supervisors and all assigned personnel in the effort to ensure a culture of conscience for the organization.}
4. Leaders cannot just be good; they also must be sensitive to their status as role models for their people and thus avoid the appearance of improper behavior.
5. Leadership from below is at least as important as leadership from above in implementing the Core Values.
6. A culture of conscience is impossible unless civilians, officers, and enlisted personnel understand, accept, internalize, and are free to follow the Core Values.
7. To understand, accept, and internalize the Core Values, our people must be allowed and encouraged to engage in an extended dialogue about them and to explore the role of the values at all levels of the Air Force.
8. Our first task is to fix organizations; individual character development is possible, but it is not a goal. {If a culture of compromise exists in the Air Force, then it is more likely to be the result of bad policies and programs than it is to be symptomatic of any character flaws in our people. Therefore, long before we seek to implement a character development program, we must thoroughly evaluate and, where necessary, fix our policies, processes, and procedures.}
(2) The Core Values Continuum
Obviously, the Core Values need to be a major topic of education and training from accession schools (such as basic military training, OTS, ROTC, and USAFA) to senior professional military education schools (such as the Senior NCO Academy and Air War College). As our people climb the professional education and training ladder, they will be schooled to a level of knowledge about the Core Values appropriate to their next level of operational responsibility.
But it is equally obvious that all of the education and training in the world can be wiped out by a supervisor who says, “Core Values? That’s what they taught you at Lackland. Now, let me tell you how we really do it.” In other words, it won’t do any good to educate our people in the Core Values if we don’t also live them.
That’s why we need to create a Core Values Continuum. The Core Values must be woven into education and training, and we must be sure that all of our units operationalize the Core Values. We need to continually teach, reinforce, and practice the Core Values and the only way we can do that is by asking the Schoolhouse and the Field to work together as equal partners. What is learned in the Schoolhouse also will be taught and practiced in the Field; and what is done in the Field later will be re-taught and re-emphasized at the next higher stage of education and training. The end result will be a cradle-to-grave Core Values Continuum for all Air Force personnel.
(a) The Schoolhouse Weave. For their part in creating the continuum, those engaged in education and training will practice what is called the “Schoolhouse Weave.” That is, the Core Values will be woven into existing courses by an appropriate combination of the following three things:
Create a short, introductory lesson dedicated to defining the Core Values and explaining their importance to the Air Force.
Build planned opportunities into the course. Plan to discuss the Core Values in the context of the subject-matter you are teaching. Where are values issues most likely to come up with your students? Identify those opportunities and weave core values discussions into the lesson plans you already have. For example, when discussing maintenance forms, an instructor may also add to that technical discussion a discussion of the temptation to lie on such forms. In this way the instructor will reinforce the Core Values and demonstrate to the students the everyday role of the values.
Take advantage of unexpected opportunities that arise in a course of instruction. These are chances to discuss the Core Values as the course unfolds. Such an opportunity may come on the heels of a remark made by a student or it may present itself during the discussion of a technical point. In any case, instructors must be ready to take advantage of the occasion.
In addition, the following principles will govern teaching of the Core Values:
#1 > All education and training in the Air Force will address the Core Values. (Obviously there are limits to this principle. The goal is to educate all officers, enlisted personnel, and civilians throughout their careers, but that won’t be feasible in all cases.)
#2 > Teach to the level appropriate to the students once they have finished your course; in other words, prepare them for their next level of responsibility.
#3 > Passive learning techniques alone are not acceptable (briefings and lectures are not sufficient by themselves); instructors must primarily use active learning techniques (such as case teaching, collaborative learning, simulations, and directed discussion).
(b) Operationalizing the Core Values. Making the values an integral part of the way we conduct our daily business will require three coordinated and simultaneous efforts:
The Top-Down Approach: It is absolutely crucial that leaders at all levels (not just commanders) take full responsibility for implementing the Core Values Strategy in their organizations. At the very least, such a top-down emphasis should include the following:
a public, sincere statement of personal commitment to the Core Values and their importance to Air Force operations.
the acceptance of one’s responsibility for the continuous education of all persons in the operational environment; if the Schoolhouse conducts education and training on more general levels, then operational leaders must conduct continuing education and training on the concrete and practical level. Unit leadership must make the role of the Core Values `real’ by engaging immediate subordinates in a discussion of the specific roles those values play in the organization.
an unflagging commitment to the just enforcement of standards of personal conduct; enforcement should consider the possibility of rehabilitating the violators.
the courage to examine the ethical climate of the organization one leads and to take positive steps to improve that climate, as needed.
a complete commitment to building the trust and openness necessary to creating a culture of conscience even if such a step may invite criticism from superiors or peers.
walking the talk: living the core values.
developing a method to evaluate the ethical climate of one’s organization that is not itself counter-value in nature.
the conscious inclusion of the core values in all sub ordinate feedback and mentoring sessions, with a special emphasis on explaining your understanding of what the Core Values require in the context of your operation.
The Bottom-Up Approach: At the same time that commanders and other leaders are giving the values their top-down emphasis, the members of the organization should be asked to examine all policies, processes, and procedures of the organization that may contribute to a culture of compromise. This involves the performance of a “corrosion analysis” in which members of the organization are asked to (1) list those circumstances in which they are regularly tempted to act in a manner inconsistent with the Core Values, (2) share their findings with others in the organization to identify common patterns of potential compromise across the unit, and (3) identify possible causes for these recurrent patterns of potential compromise.
Once the possible causes are identified, the results are surfaced to leadership for action, and such action may consist of one of the following:
The leadership concurs with the identification of the problem and its cause, and action is taken to fix the situation.
The leadership does not concur in the analysis and explains why the problem is something that must be lived with or is not caused by the factors identified.
The Back-and-Forth Approach: In addition to the other two approaches, all of the members of the organization will engage in an extended dialogue of the ways to best inculcate the Core Values into the culture of the organization. What does Service before self actually mean in our operation? How far should we take the idea of Excellence in all we do? How do the demands for Integrity first impact working relationships and processes? Given our answers to these questions, what should we do next?
Atlanta: 
Citizen Governor 