14th CMSAF Gerald Murray on...

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brigitte N. Brantley
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force #14 (Ret.) Gerald Murray visited Moody Jan. 27 through 29 to mentor Airmen and attend the 23d Wing annual awards banquet.

His prior assignment at Moody along with his 29 years of service gave him an insight to what Airmen deal with, and he took the opportunity to impart some of the wisdom to students at the Jason D. Cunningham Airman Leadership School and Michael Maltz First-Term Airman Center.

Here are his views on...

HIS GREATEST INSPIRATION
"If there was one person, it's my wife Sherry. We were together two years before I joined, so it was a decision we made together. She sacrificed her own career to stay home and take care of our kids. About a year out from testing for tech the first time, I told her I'd start studying six months out and she said, 'Oh no, you won't. We have a child now and need better economic standing.' And besides, she had seen the pay chart. She'd bring me a sandwich and some tea, and she'd kick the chair when I was asleep."

BEING STATIONED AT MOODY
"How many of you put Moody on your dreamsheets? It's not one of the places I ever wanted to be stationed, but now it's one of the best assignments we have had as a family. We've had more friends here who aren't military and gotten closer to the community than anywhere else we've been."

DEPLOYMENTS
"It's a challenging time in today's service and it isn't getting lesser to any degree. Many of you have been deployed one to three times within three to four years. We're out of Iraq and pulling out of Afghanistan, but I think we'll be there for a long time. We're also still deploying for smaller operations. As NCOs, you need to ask, 'Where is my mission focused and where does it need to be?'"

THE HARDEST THINGS HE DID IN HIS CAREER
"Nothing is tougher than facing a wounded service member, or a wife or child who has lost their husband or dad. I made it a priority to visit every single wounded Airman and the families of the ones killed in action. Going in, I always had to do a gut check because I knew it would be tough. Every time, I came out, I was uplifted. They had lost their limbs, their eyes, sometimes their families... the human spirit and attitudes were tremendous. While my office in the Pentagon was being remodeled, my window overlooked Arlington National Cemetery and seeing veterans interned had a profound impact on me. I could not work long enough or hard enough in representing you as chief master sergeant of the Air Force.
"I also had to separate two or three Airmen I wish I could have saved, but had to for the greater good of order and discipline. One of them was a crew chief in one of the rescue squadrons here. His father and grandfather were career Air Force, his great-grandfather was Army and he could trace his military lineage back to the Revolutionary War. He was one of the sharpest Airmen, but he went to Atlanta with a bunch of 'friends' and an OSI (Office of Special Investigations) agent was in the room while they were doing marijuana. The sting caught him red-handed and we had no recourse. He broke that lineage and that history."

THE 'DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL' REPEAL
"No matter your beliefs, if the change of that policy has affected the mission or the way you treat people, you have failed. The fact is the decision was made to change it. Debates will loom on for a long time about whether they should have the ability for benefits, cohabitations and equal representation. It's not the easiest thing to deal with, but if we treat them with respect and focus on the mission, you'll be able to work through it. You probably have different views because we're generations apart, but I think you'll work through it well."

HIS COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE
"The more I know, the less I know and the more I learn, the more I need to learn. I don't look at myself as the smartest guy in the room. I thank God for my parents and godparents -- I was raised with great work ethics and the golden rule, which were helpful in adapting to the service. If something's worth doing, it's worth doing the best you can. While you're here, get the most you can out of it. I studied and prepared -- back then, you passed or you didn't. There was no remedial training. I set a goal as a staff sergeant that if I were to stay enlisted, I would make chief."

SUPERVISORS
Nobody tries to be a bad supervisor, but some have failed to learn and apply leadership principles. A large number of you have had bad supervisors and great ones. So you should think, 'I better be the best supervisor I can be.' As a supervisor, I like you to like me, but I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror and see my strengths and weaknesses. I let my subordinates know that I'm willing to listen to and learn from them."