OPINION:
High standards weren’t always a guiding principle in my life. Growing up in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, I often quit when things got hard. I dropped out of high school just months before graduation — not from lack of ability but from lack of effort. The same pattern followed in sports, theater and work.
By my early 20s, it was clear that potential was being wasted. Change came when I met my wife. To earn her respect and my own, I had to become better. I finished school, earned a degree and started rebuilding my life. Two months before our wedding, my father was killed in a car accident. Grief hardened into resolve. Life was short, and it was time to make it count. That was when I joined the U.S. Air Force.
Joining wasn’t just about serving my country; it was about learning purpose, discipline and integrity, the very things I’d avoided. From my days as a bio-environmental engineering technician in Montana to now serving as an officer, the Air Force has given me more than a career. It has also given me a philosophy: Be the best you.
That’s why I support Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s call to restore higher standards across the force. Mr. Hegseth’s message isn’t about turning back the clock; it’s about returning to the principles that make service transformational. Standards aren’t barriers. They’re benchmarks. They give us something to rise to.
In recent years, too many standards have faded: fitness, accountability, even pride in uniform. Waivers are common, fitness tests have softened and “getting by” has replaced “getting better.” We call it inclusion or compassion, but often it’s convenience. Lower expectations don’t lift people up. They hold them back.
I’ve seen the difference high expectations make. As a young airman, my supervisors refused to let me settle. Because of them, I earned a master’s from Georgia Tech, made staff sergeant in 3½ years and became an officer. Their expectations built me; they didn’t break me.
That’s what Mr. Hegseth is calling for: a return to accountability, merit and readiness. The military isn’t a social experiment; it’s a fighting force. Our mission demands peak performance, whether that’s physically, mentally or morally.
“Be the best you” isn’t just my motto. It’s also the backbone of strong leadership and a strong military.
Capt. LEE R. WILLIAMS (U.S. Air Force)
Navarre, Florida
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