As a supervisor in the military, I met an airman who had all the required qualifications according to the Air Force, but was unable to complete his six-year contract term. He survived basic training and a fairly intense two-month technical course, but lasted only two years in the Air Force before he was asked to leave. To work in the public affairs career field, he had to get a good score on the military entrance exam, meaning he demonstrated cognitive abilities – a normal predictor of success. However, he was separated from the Air Force due to his poor social skills. This article will discuss whether the Airman's emotional intelligence (EI) could have been improved and the importance of high emotional intelligence to an organization. Goleman (2001) believes that people with high emotional intelligence show competence in two areas: personal and social. Personal competence involves a person's ability to identify and regulate their own emotions, while social competence concerns a person's ability to identify or empathize with the emotions of others and to influence other people (p. 1-2 ). The airman who was struggling to adapt to his surroundings had come to us with problems. When he attended technical school for his job, he struggled to pass the first time. The instructors continued to treat him until he passed after three attempts. These instructors pushed the Airman through the situation, but may not have had time to identify the root cause of his struggle. Was it a cognitive deficit or was it also low EI? In addition to his educational failures, he was in the process of divorce and facing financial problems when he arrived at his first assignment. Tasler and Su (2009) say that the EI and performance link can be seen in a stu..... . middle of the sheet ......elligent Workplace (pages 1-12). Retrieved from www.eiconsortium.org Preliminary report: New US Air Force study explores cost-effectiveness of applying bar-on eq-i. (2008). Retrieved from Emotional Intelligence Consortium: www.eiconsortium.orgSadri, G. (2013). Improve emotional intelligence. Industrial Management, 55(1), 18.Sagalyn, D. (2012). Health experts question Army report on psychological training. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/military-jan-june12-csf_training_01-02/Saibani, N., Idham Sabtu, M., Muhamad, N., Abd Wahab, D., Sahari, J., & Md. Deros, B. (2012). Comparison of emotional intelligence scores among engineering students at different stages of an academic program. Asian Social Sciences, 8(16), 88-95. doi:10.5539/ass.v8n16p88Tasler, S., & Su, L.D. (2009, January 9). The trap of emotional ignorance. Business Week Online, 6.