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AFMC's newest chiefs gather for Enlisted Heritage Banquet

  • Published
  • By Kim Dawley
  • Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Air Force Materiel Command's newest chief master sergeants gathered for an Enlisted Heritage Banquet at the National Museum of the United States Air Force here Feb. 6, the culmination event of their week-long orientation.

"Tonight is about our enlisted heritage, and that heritage is created by heroes," said Chief Master Sgt. Michael Warner, AFMC command chief. "You are part of that legacy, and you have more to give. You're going to leave here to lead incredible Airmen like the ones whose amazing stories our command chiefs will share tonight."

Throughout the evening, the command chiefs from AFMC's centers shared accounts of their enlisted heroes from Air Force and AFMC history. The heroes came from all eras, spanning from World War II to the past few years. For example, Chief Master Sgt. Chris McCollor, Air Force Test Center command chief, spoke about Master Sgt. Edwin Horton, who served as an engineer/gunner in the Doolittle Raid in 1942. The Air Force Sustainment Center command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Vegas, described the actions of Staff Sgt. Joseph Upton and Senior Airman Daniel Acosta, who were part of an explosive ordnance disposal team in Iraq in December 2005. The rest of the accounts were of Airmen just as diverse.

A key message of evening was that there are heroes all around us, in every generation. Warner concluded the evening by talking about his heroes.

"I think it very appropriate that tonight -- in our Air Force museum, as part of your progression to chief master sergeant -- the heroes I'm going to close our event with are the chiefs who started it all, the first chief master sergeants of our United States Air Force," he said.

Warner said that although many don't know their names or what they did to build the foundation for today's chief master sergeants, the charter chiefs did two very important things: demonstrated what it means to be a chief, and -- more importantly -- demonstrated what a chief means to the Air Force.

The prestige of the rank flowered from its inception when 625 were selected from 58,000 master sergeants to become chiefs in 1959, he said. Until the early 1970s, they were addressed as sergeant. But the grassroots recognition of their leadership made a difference to the Air Force.

"Those men are heroes because of what they did once they were selected as charter chiefs," Warner said. "They truly did pave the road that all of us as chiefs have been able to walk since we entered the Air Force. Following our charter chiefs, many great chiefs -- leaders -- have continued to build on that road for all future chief master sergeants. It's now your turn to enter that road and continue building it for the Airmen that will follow you."