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Former CMSAF visits Hickam

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Erin Smith
  • 15th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  Though his retirement date states 1979, he never really left active duty, nor did his mission change. He may have given up the mandatory appointments at the Pentagon but those vacancies were quickly filled with base visits and the opportunity to offer junior Airmen words of advice, encouragement and wisdom.
 
The fifth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Robert Gaylor, did just that at Hickam, recently. The purpose of his visit was to attend the Hawaii National Guard conference but he also attended the Senior Noncommissioned Officer Induction Ceremony and Noncommissioned Officer Academy graduation. Though his schedule was jam-packed, he still carved out time to visit Security Forces' guard mount, various offices and duty stations throughout the base. 

He enjoyed meeting with base personnel the most. 

"The highlight is always meeting the people," said CMSAF Gaylor. "I am a people person. I like people." 

The chief explains his love for meeting people stems from when he was Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. He said that as a CMSAF, you are caught in the middle, between meetings at the Pentagon and the base visits where he can get out and meet the Airmen. Chief Gaylor made the decision to miss the meetings and get out and spend time with the people performing the mission at base and command levels. 

"I felt if I was going to be a spokesman of the enlisted force, I had to get out and about and hear them and talk to them and listen to them and it was probably my legacy," he said. 

Along with meeting and listening to the Airmen, the Chief was happy just to shake hands. 

"I'm a proud man but I'm also a humble man," he said. "When an Airman says, 'Wow, I get to meet you', I want to say, 'Wow, I get to meet you'."

During his visit to Hickam, he had many opportunities to get out and shake the hands of Airmen, at luncheons and even in their duty section. He also attended a National Guard conference and saw the Guardsmen and Active Duty Airmen working together hand-in-hand to complete Hickam's daily mission. 

"I can't tell them apart," he said. "When I go into an area and there is an integration of guard, reserve and Active Duty, I simply cannot tell them apart. It is seamless, and I see no need to tell them apart. I don't go around asking, Are you guard or are you active I ask, 'Are you a mechanic, are you [Security Forces]'." 

Regardless of duty title or whether they are active duty, guard or reserves, the Chief sees great potential in Airmen today. 

"Oh, I think the Airmen today are most impressive," he said. "I live in San Antonio so I go out to Lackland and in the past two months, I've had three visits to the basic training units. I can't imagine anyone spending a day with basic trainees and coming away saying the young men and women of today do not have it together. I think anyone would be wowed by the Airmen. I find motivation and a desire to do well and serve their country ... I think we have to make sure that we capture that motivation and keep it going."