Chief

By CMSgt. Charles Lucas, USAF (Ret.) Airey

n 1966, the Air Force launched a the force, but he is reluctant to claim I search for “the best qualified and credit for anything accomplished on most impressive individual” in the his watch. “I will never be convinced service to fill a new position, that that I was the most qualified or the of of the Air best,” Chief Airey said. “I ended up Force. It said that candidates had to with the job, so you go out and do the have at least 22 years of active-duty best you can.” service and two years as a chief mas- Paul Airey, who will be 74 in ter sergeant. Each had to have “the December and lives in Panama City, highest standards of integrity and Fla., grew up in a Navy town, Quincy, performance.” Mass., with its seaport and shipyards. At the time, the Air Force had more Joining the Navy was his first choice than 5,900 chiefs on active duty. Fewer when he left high school in 1942, but than half had the required time in it was not to be. service. Only 26 could be nominated. Only three were chosen as finalists, The Navy Way and the job went to tough, up-from- Airey recalled that the chief petty the-ranks Paul Wes­ley Airey. In the officer in the Navy recruiting office was Air Force’s 50 years, the selection of “a belligerent type that really turned Airey must surely rate as one of its me off.” The CPO seemed completely golden moments. uninterested in the young man before In Airey’s selection, the system him and told him to come back later. worked. Today’s Air Force continues Instead, Airey went down the street to benefit from that decision. Airey and joined the Army Air Forces. was a man who did not complete high “I owe that petty officer much for school but gained a diploma through changing my mind,” Airey remarked. off-duty study, even acquiring a col- After Airey completed basic training As the first Chief lege associate degree. He was captured at Atlantic City, N.J., the AAF sent and imprisoned by the Nazis during him to Scott Field, Ill., to train as an Master Sergeant World War II, but he came back and airborne radio operator. “I wanted reenlisted because he liked the Air to be an aerial gunner,” Airey noted, of the Air Force, he Force life. adding, “I got some consolation when paved the way for Airey helped define the role of the I learned that crews on B-17s and B- Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force 24s had the radio operator double as those who came and, as such, was instrumental in the a waist gunner.” after him. success over the years of USAF’s most He completed radio school at Scott, visible symbol of the enlisted force. received his gunnery training at Tyn- Establishing the position of Chief dall Field, Fla., and moved on to Salt Master Sergeant of the Air Force had Lake City and Boise, Idaho, for crew been opposed by some in the Air Force assignment and transition training for hierarchy, but in the end Airey won the B-24 aircraft. He was assigned their respect and cooperation. to the 485th Bomb Group, and the Airey brought many benefits to crew was ordered to North Africa in

AIR FORCE Magazine / September 1997 61 March 1944. They took the southern After a 90-day recuperation leave, became a at Scott, and route—West Palm Beach, Fla., Puerto and weighing less than 100 pounds, over the next 14 years he held “first Rico, British Guiana, and Brazil. From Airey was returned to the United shirt” assignments at five bases. “Of there, the crew crossed the Atlantic to States. There was no question in his all the jobs I had in the Air Force, Dakar in West Africa and flew on to mind that he would be going back on next to being Chief Master Sergeant Tunisia for a month until an airfield duty. “Even as a POW, I was giving of the Air Force, I think first sergeant was completed at Foggia, Italy. much consideration to staying in,” he was probably the best,” said Airey. “I Newly promoted Technical Ser- said. “I liked it. There was something liked it. I liked the discipline part of geant Airey was on his 28th combat about it I wanted. I came off leave and it. I liked being able to counsel and mission in July 1944, flying over oil reenlisted.” lead. You never knew what was going refineries on the outskirts of Vienna, He was assigned as an instructor at to happen, day or night.” Austria, when his B-24 was hit by flak. the radio school at Scott Field, where In March 1964, the Air Force As- “We got as far as Hungary when he spent the next six years. In 1951 sociation’s Enlisted Council asked the pilot ordered us to get out,” Airey he was sent to Naha AB, Okinawa, as USAF to appoint a “Sergeant Major recalled. “There was no hesitation on NCOIC of communications. Respon- of the Air Force” through whom “en- my part. Right out the camera hatch I sible for radio repair, the young Airey listed personnel can freely express went at 18,000 feet. I remember getting soon found the tropical moisture and their opinions and recommendations the ‘psycho card’ [radio code] out of fungi of the place were playing havoc on matters ranging from mission ef- my pocket, tearing it up, and scattering with the radio and radar equipment. fectiveness to personal problems.” it to the wind.” Reaching into another He developed a corrosion control as- The proposal was turned down but pocket, he found his cigarettes, lit one, sembly line to correct the problem. “I resurfaced in 1965 when the Army and waited for the inevitable. It didn’t didn’t invent anything,” Airey said. created its first Sergeant Major of the take long arriving. “The process was there. All you had Army position. “As I got closer to the ground,” said to do was read it. I dug it out and set By 1966, the time was right. At Airey, “I could see a group of farmers it up.” that point, Airey was at Tyndall coming after me. I never got out of my Others thought he deserved high AFB, the same base at which he had harness. I got the hell beat out of me.” praise. At a ceremony in which he was completed gunnery training 23 years German soldiers and police arrived awarded the for his earlier. There, he first heard about and took him to a local jail for the initiative, he was credited with sav- the proposed CMSAF position. “I night. Eventually, he ended up at Stalag ing millions of dollars in electronic thought, whoever gets that job is Luft IV, a German POW camp near equipment that would have otherwise really going to have to go through a the Baltic Sea. In February 1945, as deteriorated. lot,” said Airey. “What a great honor the Allied armies pushed farther into it would be, but I didn’t think I had the Reich, he and 6,000 fellow POWs “First Shirt” any chance of being selected.” began a forced march of rough­ly 400 On his return from Okinawa in Airey was unaware of the Wash- miles to another camp near Berlin. 1953, Airey made a career change that ington political controversy over the That’s where he ended his POW days; would set him up as a candidate for proposed position. Principal person- he was liberated by British forces on the post of Chief Master Sergeant of alities involved were Gen. John P. May 2, 1945. the Air Force when it was created. He McConnell, Air Force Chief of Staff, and Rep. Mendel Rivers (D–S.C.), the powerful chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Noting that the Army and Marine Corps each had senior enlisted positions, Rivers introduced a bill to establish such a position in each of the armed forces. “The top NCO would advise the leader- ship on the morale, welfare, and career opportunities of the enlisted men and women of their respective service,” the bill read. Support for the idea grew on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon. However, resistance to the position by senior officers in some of the services was evident. McConnell weighed his options and asked for a recommendation from his Air Council. In August 1966, McConnell adopted the Rivers recom- Newly sworn in, CMSAF Paul W. Airey accepts congratulations from his boss, Gen. John P. McConnell, USAF Chief of Staff, after the April 3, 1967, ceremony installing mendation, with minor changes, and Airey as the first Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. directed that steps be taken to establish

62 AIR FORCE Magazine / September 1997 precedent. He read and reread the job description. It was his first Pentagon assignment. In fact, until his interview for the job two months earlier, he had never been in the building. “I think you have to remember that 1967 was a period of turmoil for many in the ,” he noted. “The leadership recognized the need for improved communications. May­be that’s why the job was established.” Chief Airey spent his first few weeks in a tiny fifth-floor office of the Pentagon as he awaited preparation of his permanent office. From the begin- ning, Chief Airey made it clear that his office was not going to become a clearinghouse for complaints. At the time, he declared, “This is not an of- Visiting the troops became a hallmark of Airey’s tenure. Here, he talks with A1C fice of the Inspector General, and it Frederick J. Simmons, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, in Vietnam in October 1967, while is not an assignments office.” Chief Master Sergeant Hair looks on. It Wasn’t Just Vietnam A solid month of briefings by the the position administratively. Two the Air Force’s 20th anniversary as a Air Staff drove home one point very months later, even though it was clear separate service, Chief Airey said the quickly. Retention was a serious prob- that the Rivers bill lacked sufficient changes and progress facilitated by the lem. The first-term reenlistment rate votes for passage, the Air Force an- enlisted force were hallmarks of those was at a 12-year low. The Vietnam nounced the creation of the position two decades. He also said continued War was blamed by most, but Airey of “Chief Master Sergeant of the Air progress was assured because: “It is believed that equal blame had to be Force,” which it said “was to be filled pride and dedication that keep enlisted put on the enlisted promotion system. by an individual who will become the men at their posts, not the lure of an He recalled, “We had people who highest ranking enlisted member of easy life and a secure future. For the were in grade 10 years or more, in the Air Force.” dedicated , it is not only money frozen career fields, with no oppor- “In the field, we knew little about or the job to be done. It is the desire tunity for promotion.” the job,” Airey said. “Very little came to serve our country that motivates His work with a team of Air Force down through military channels.” today’s Air Force.” specialists helped to produce the At the ceremony, McConnell told Weighted Airman Promotion System, The Final Three him, “OK, you’ve got the job. Run which he said is his most important Airey, who was by then assigned with it. You know being Chief Master contribution as CMSAF. Ac­cord­ing to to Air Defense Command, was one of Sergeant of the Air Force is 90 per- Airey, “The end result was a promotion three finalists interviewed by McCon- cent common sense and 10 percent system which today is still in effect nell and Gen. Bruce K. Hol­loway, vice knowledge. You have to try to get and is by far the fairest, best, most chief of staff, at the Pentagon. (The along with the Air Staff. There are equitable enlisted promotion system other two were CMSgt. Jefferson F. people who will make a patsy out of of any of the armed forces.” Marsh of PACAF and CMSgt. Conrad you, both officer and enlisted. Others In his second month in office, F. Stevens of MAC.) Shortly after their will try to use you. Many will have Airey traveled to Olmsted AFB, individual interviews with McConnell axes to grind.” Pa., on his first field trip. “The base in January 1967, it was announced The Pentagon was buzzing with was scheduled to close, morale was that Chief Airey had been selected reports that McConnell, in fact, want­ed low, and they were looking for a as the first Chief Master Sergeant of no part of the new addition to his staff. shot in the arm,” Airey said. Soon, the Air Force. Many believed Rivers had forced the traveling to visit with the troops in The installation ceremony for the position down his throat. For his part, distant locations became a hallmark first CMSAF was held on April 3, Airey said he was never certain how of his tenure. 1967, in the filled-to-capacity confer- strong McConnell was for or against He didn’t only visit with the enlisted ence room of the Secretary of the Air the position. “I do know this,” said force. On one trip to Maxwell AFB, Force. In attendance were Chief of Airey. “After a few months in office, Ala., he met with Lt. Gen. John W. Staff McConnell, the deputy chiefs of I could not have asked for a better Carpenter, commander of Air Univer- staff, the Master Chief Petty Officer supporter.” sity, about establishing a senior NCO of the Navy, and the Sergeant Major Of more concern to Airey was the academy for Air Force people. “I felt of the Marine Corps. need to determine his precise duties. our senior and chief master sergeants Noting that the year 1967 marked There was, obviously, no Air Force needed more advanced management

AIR FORCE Magazine / September 1997 63 to be liked by everyone.” Airey fre- quently equates CMSAF duties to that of the first sergeant role that he knew so well. “There are the midnight calls and some unpleasant tasks, but I still think it’s a lot better than running a shop or an office.” Airey hasn’t seen much change in the job of Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force since he initiated it in 1967. He has, however, become concerned that, in recent years, nominations for the CMSAF job have become focused on those serving as senior enlisted advisers to the commanders mak- ing the nominations. “I am a great believer that the CMSAF does not have to be an SEA. We have a lot of great candidates who hold high-level Airey continues to serve the enlisted force—often working through the Air Force or visible positions.” Sergeants Association and AFA and by speaking at enlisted events, such as this Because he was a pioneer, few at occasion last year at the Senior NCO Academy at Maxwell. the time noticed that at the end of his term on July 31, 1969, Airey did not training than was available at the ma- recalled encountering open resistance retire from the Air Force. He accepted jor command academies.” Carpenter from various senior officers who had an assignment to Tyndall AFB for favored the idea and said the academy opposed the creation of the CMSAF one year out of a desire to complete should be at Air University. “I had no office on principle. Airey was always 30 years of service. However, since strong feelings about where it was lo- conscious that, in such occasions, he then, every CMSAF has ended his cated,” Airey said. “I just wanted one.” had a very high-level audience. “I tour in the top job with a retirement Two years after he left office, the think the Chief of Staff was watching ceremony. Should the CMSAF return academy was approved and then acti- me and waiting for reports on me,” he to regular Air Force duty following vated in 1972 at Maxwell AFB. Airey recalled. “It took about six months. his term of office? Airey, in retro- is proud of the fact that he is a regular From then on, things began to look up.” spect, believes not. “To return to speaker at the school. Airey at times came in contact the mainstream of the Air Force is a Airey sees the academy as the top with Capitol Hill, mostly regarding mistake,” he said. “There is no room level of professional military educa- constituent complaints. Rep. Wright for two Chief Master Sergeants of the tion for an NCO. “I look at it as an Patman (D-Tex.), the chairman of Air Force at any one time.” inducement, something to strive for,” the House Banking Committee, once In a sense, however, Airey has never said Airey. “It should be a prerequisite asked him to come along on a tour of left the Air Force. In retirement, he for promotion to chief. I have heard of US military bases in Europe. Patman has served as a regional director of the senior NCOs who retired rather than go had received reports that servicemen Air Force Sergeants Association and to the academy. My reaction is: Good. there were paying usurious rates for continues to support AFSA programs. Get rid of them. We don’t need them.” loans, and he had sought out Airey He has served as a chapter president Airey lauds today’s professional upon learning that he had experience of AFA. He makes numerous speaking military education opportunities, working with credit unions. The trip engagements, usually at leadership which he believes have caused a resulted in the establishment of credit schools, NCO academies, dedications, transformation of the service. unions at US bases in Europe. and anniversaries. He is a member of “The educational level of the en- Airey learned early that a knack for the Board of Trustees for the Airmen listed force today is comparable to diplomacy and a tough skin are required Memorial Museum and a member of the officer force that I knew in World equipment for CMSAF. “You are fair the Air Force Memorial Foundation War II,” he said. “The majority of the game for criticism from people who and the Air University Foundation. officers in World War II did not have might not like you just [as a result “I’m as close to the Air Force today a degree, which would be unthinkable of] petty jealousies. There are always as I could possibly be,” said Airey. “I today. If I had to pick 100 chief master people who will disagree with you. I just don’t put the uniform on every sergeants off the ramp today, compared find no fault with that. I’m not going morning.” ■ with 100 from the time that I made it, the difference wouldn’t be in guts and ability. It would be in training.” CMSgt. Charles Lucas, USAF (Ret.), was an editor with the Air Force News Ser- Waiting, Watching vice and is a member of AFA’s Veterans/Retiree Council. His most recent article Still, in the early days, he was not for Air Force Magazine was “Chief Benken,” which appeared in the February 1997 always welcomed with open arms. He issue.

64 AIR FORCE Magazine / September 1997