Portraits honor former Dental Corps chiefs

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tonnette Thompson
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  "Does anybody have an airbrush?"

Not exactly the response one would hope for or expect when presenting a subject with the work of art they inspired. Yet it fitted the man who stood in his tweed jacket, his white, flyaway hair curling around his ears, staring at the oil painting that represented his not-so-distant past.

Thomas Bailey, Jr. - the man calling for the touch-up - and Gary Murray have three things in common. They're retired Air Force brigadier generals, they served as Air Force Dental Corps chiefs in their time, and on Sept. 10 in an unveiling ceremony at Bldg. 1900, the 882nd Training Group honored each of them with oil portraits.

General Murray served as Dental Corps Chief from 1999-2003 and General Bailey succeeded him, serving from 2003-2006.

General Murray, opting to don his old dress blues for the occasion, felt a bit more generous about his final product.

"I think it looks great. What a handsome guy," he even offered.

Maj. Gen. Gar Graham served as speaker for the ceremony. He is the Command Surgeon of the Headquarters Air Force District of Washington at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., and the 79th Medical Wing commander at Andrews AFB, Md.

"The Dental Corps is blessed with a nice place for dental students to go, and it's due to the work of these two gentlemen," he said.

General Bailey served as the command surgeon of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. He advised the AFMC commander on all medical matters, including the health and physical well-being of personnel.

General Murray was commander of the Air Force Medical Operations Agency, and Assistant Surgeon General of Dental Services at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. While there, he served as a key adviser to the Air Force Surgeon General.

"They skated the puck before anyone even knew where the puck was going," General Graham said.

Neither of the guests of honor, however, took the opportunity to brag on themselves, choosing instead to advise the younger generation of military medical and dental practitioners seated before them.

"Enjoy where you are," General Bailey said, speaking from 30 years of service and 20 months retirement. "The commitment to do the mission, the camaraderie between your coworkers, the sense of accomplishment, of being part of something bigger than you - I can tell you, that's something you won't always find on the outside."

"Time goes so fast," General Murray said. "Take care of the people around you, enjoy what you do, and remember that the Air Force is the greatest organization you can work for."

The portraits will hang in the 882nd TRG's schoolhouse's hallways, which are already lined with dozens of paintings of medical commanders gone by.