Sheppard welcomes new SNCOs

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Corbin
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  It was the moment they had been waiting for.

After years of hard work, they had finally gone from being slick-sleeved Airman Basics to the leaders of the enlisted corps.

Sixty-seven Airmen joined the ranks of the senior NCO corps Aug. 3 at the 2007 Senior NCO Induction Ceremony at the Multi-Purpose Events Center in Wichita Falls.

The night followed a four-day course on being an SNCO. Each person present at the course was either a master sergeant select or had recently attained the rank of master sergeant.

Chief Master Sgt. Jeannie McLean, 82nd Training Wing command chief master sergeant, welcomed the new master sergeants, giving them a hint of what was to come.

"Your entire way of life has now been changed," she said. "More will be expected of you, more will be demanded of you. Not because you are an E-7, but because you are now master sergeants. You have not been merely promoted; you have joined an exclusive society. And as in all societies you have a responsibility to its members, even as they have a responsibility to you."

Chief Master Sgt. Larry Gonzales, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., NCO Academy commandant and guest speaker for the event, said the evening was about celebrating the new SNCOs' rise to the rank of master sergeant and their future role in the Air Force. He said this is when they matter the most.

"The Air Force needs you," he said to the new SNCOs. "It needs you to be a leader. Our youngest generation needs you. We have left them to you. Your performance won't be measured by individual accomplishments; it will be measured by them."

Tech Sgt. Dana Fogle, utilities section chief with the 82nd Civil Engineer Squadron, echoed the chief's remarks. She said she feels a little apprehensive, though excited and ready to do the job, because "there's so much more I'm in charge of now.

"Now it's about taking care of the people," she said. "About making sure they have the tools to get the job done. Before, I was just one of the people with the tools."

Chief Gonzalez said there is a lot more expected of a senior NCO.

He said some choose to do the things that are expected of them by the Air Force culture, while others don't. He said a senior NCO must do what is expected of them and be the epitome of professionalism.

"Being a senior NCO is not about excuses," he said. "The eyes of the ones you lead, they are watching you."

The master sergeant promotion list was released on June 14 and can be viewed here.