Husband, wife STEP promote six months apart

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mike Meares
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Only six months after Master Sgt. Nadia Lozano tacked on a surprise stripe to her sleeve, her husband, now newly promoted Master Sgt. Rolando Lozano has joined her in the senior NCO corps.

The halls and waiting room on the first floor of the 82nd Force Support Squadron were filled with Airmen, NCOs and officers alike wondering why they were told to be at this spot at this time.

Hushed conversations about the impending visit by the base commander were spurred by intrigue when told the general was to make an example of someone. A technical sergeant walked in the room, wonders what was happening, and then proceeds to the restroom, not able to wait.
 
"I knew we had a (distinguished visitor) coming through," "I was just going to the bathroom, I thought 'Why is there a big crowd here; I've got to go, I'll be back.'" Brig. Gen. Scott Kindsvater, 82nd Training Wing commander, walks in moments after to "recognize excellence," and indeed make an example of a "deserving" NCO.

"Sergeant Lozano, front and center," said a commanding voice from the squadron commander. Heads scanned the crowd to find a very nervous technical sergeant who just walked out of his visit to the latrine and didn't know what to do at the sound of his name; though the site of his family across the room made him suspicious. "I thought maybe I was in trouble or something, I don't know," Lozano said, 82nd Force Support Squadron student relocations NCOIC. "I knew I was squared away, so I had no idea what this was about." For an Airman, the term "front and center" can only mean one of two things, and one of them isn't a good."

As the general started speaking about the importance of the excellence in the Air Force, he turns to Lozano, now red face and shocked, "You're out of uniform. Congratulations!" "It makes sense now," he said, still not realizing in the moments after hearing he was out of uniform that he didn't have the right chevrons on his sleeve.
 
"In my experience, the ones that get STEP promoted are always the type of people that when the announcement is made, you see people nodding, going 'Yes, that's a well deserving individual,'" said Col. Eric Froehlich, 82nd Training Wing vice commander. "I've never heard any consternation about someone being STEP promoted because down where the mission gets done, everyone knows who the hard workers and leaders are; that top one percent."

The Stripes for Exceptional Performers promotion program offers commanders a limited opportunity to immediately promote enlisted members to staff sergeant, technical sergeant or master sergeant. STEP promotions recognize Airmen who exhibit exceptional potential and thus, in the commander's eyes, deserve immediate promotion.

"Master Sergeant Lozano is a natural leader who lives our core values, is a model wingman and embraces dignity and respect philosophy," said Chief Master Sgt. Steven Parker, 82nd Force Support Squadron superintendent. "He has served outstandingly in the Security Forces, Personnel, and Military Training Leader career fields."

According to his leadership, early in his career Lozano displayed strong leadership ability when as alert response team lead his team provided flawless security for the highly vulnerable priority assets during Air Force Materiel Command's 2000 "broken arrow" exercise at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., Underground Munitions Maintenance and Storage Complex. Currently he is assigned as the NCOIC, Student Relocations where he oversees a staff of 12 military and civilians where he manages the in processing and out processing of more than 15,000 non-prior service student to 78 wings around the globe.
 
"Hard work pays off," Lozano said. "You have to have very good leadership, good workers, it's a team effort," he said. "No one is ever promoted like this without a team effort."

"I kinda got emotional with this one," said Master Sgt. Nadia Lozano, 82nd Communications Squadron operations flight superintendent, who said she wasn't that emotional with her STEP promotion in July 2013. "I got emotional."

With the surprise of mine and then his, I'm very proud because I know how hard it is to get to where we're at right now." When the chief master sergeant broke the news to her, "I need you to come see me, your husband is getting STEP promoted," she wasn't sure what she was hearing, so she asked a third time, "What?" It's a unique situation when Air Force husband and wife tandems are STEP promoted, much less in the same year.
 
"I don't know if that's been done before," the newly promoted Lozano said. "I look up to my wife as one of my mentors. I see how hard she works and I try to keep that pace. It awesome to be in the boat with her six months later. She still outranks me though, at home and at work," he said with a full toothy smile he was still unable to wipe from his face. "I will still take out the trash on Mondays!" "And that's the way it should be," his bride chimes in.