JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. -- Retired Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Robert Gaylor gave a motivational speech to Airmen at the General Jacob E. Smart Building June 25. His "14 Powerful 'F' Words" speech covered topics on how to be resilient in the past and present day Air Force.

Gaylor spoke about the path of his Air Force career that led him to be the fifth Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force. He went through the good and the bad reminding Airmen that being resilient will help make them a better person in the end.

"Resilience; it's your ability to bounce back," Gaylor said. "We're talking about the foundation of coping. We've got to take responsibility for our behavior, that's resilience."
Gaylor's "14 Powerful 'F' Words" are focus, friendship, family, forgive, fault, finances, fervent, fun, foolishness, faith, falter, fail, foundation and flourish. He used these words to tell stories about his life and Air Force career using these guidelines to make it through the hard times and appreciate the good.

"Faltering is a learning experience, that's how we learn, that's how we become creative," Gaylor said. "It's not how you falter, it's how you recover. It's called resilience."

Since retiring in 1979, Gaylor has traveled all across the world advising and mentoring Airmen. During his travels, Gaylor always seems to have an effect on the Airmen at each base he's visiting. He uses his energetic personality to entertain his audience while still conveying the knowledge he learned from his career in the Air Force.

"Things I took away from his speech are to simply enjoy life, be happy and have fun! Also, family and friends are very important," said Master Sgt. Brad Gurley, Executive Assistant to the Command Chief Air Force District of Washington. "It's amazing to think how much I can rely on them when things aren't going my way."