TOP STORY >>Command chief celebrates trained, skilled Airmen

By Tech. Sgt. Mike Hammond
Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AETCNS) — As a young staff sergeant in 1982, Chief Master Sgt. Rodney Ellison got his first real experience of a hostile environment while serving at Operating Location Foxtrot in Turkey. Today, as Air Education and Training Command’s command chief prepares to retire, he’s confident that the Air Force he leaves behind now prepares every Airman to effectively function in any wartime environment.

“When I came in, we really had a hollow force,” Chief Ellison said. “Post-Vietnam, we just really weren’t ready to go to war. But today, it’s ‘Any time, any place.’”

For Chief Ellison, his early assignment to Turkey was an eye-opener. “Back then, Turkey truly was a remote assignment. At the time, there was a lot of terrorism in Turkey and we lost a lot of good people to terrorist bombings,” he said. “Turkey was really a turning point in my career — it helped me to have a better appreciation for America and the freedoms we have. It showed me what the military was about and why we do what we do.”

Looking back to those lessons, Chief Ellison drew a parallel to the accomplishments of AETC over the past several years. Recalling recent changes such as putting more combat emphasis in the basic military training curriculum and developing the Basic Combat Convoy Course, the chief expressed confidence that Airmen today can not only survive, but thrive, in roles traditionally assigned to the U.S. Army.

The Basic Combat Convoy Course, an intensive month at Camp Anderson-Peters, Texas (located on Camp Bullis), where Airmen practice ground combat skills and Army-style small-unit tactics, is one example of AETC paving the way to warrior success. At BC3, students practice convoy maneuvers and qualify with M-4 carbines and M-249 machine guns. But more importantly, technical and staff sergeants become truck commanders and convoy commanders — they transform from skilled technicians to leaders.

“It’s amazing! You can ask any Army commander who his best convoy team is and he’ll tell you it’s Airmen,” Chief Ellison said. “It’s a great compliment from people who have trained their whole lives for that environment to recognize the performance of our people who have trained a minimal time at BC3.”

Looking to the future, the chief said the members of AETC must focus on ensuring our people have the best training we can provide. Initiatives include working to continue developing war skills in technical training and further streamlining processes to ensure Army training of Airmen is the best it can be.

He also called upon leaders at every level to help in the difficult task of drawing down while continuing to succeed during a major military operation. “We need to be straight with Airmen,” he said. “Let them know what we’re doing and why — and that we will be a stronger, more capable force on the other side of these changes.”

Chief Ellison’s personal advice to members is to not sacrifice family — rather, sacrifice on behalf of family. “Less than one percent of Americans will ever do what we do... put their lives in harm’s way for people they may never know. We leave our families a lot. When home, we need to make sure we’re home. Go to the soccer games; go to PTA meetings — be there for them, and families will understand those long separations and know how much they mean to you.”

After a career spent largely in advising and mentoring enlisted members of the Air Force, Chief Ellison’s retirement plans call for leading a somewhat different flock. He plans to become a minister to a small congregation in the San Antonio area.
Chief Master Sgt. Mark Luzader will succeed Chief Ellison March 2 as AETC’s top enlisted Airman. He comes to AETC from Fairchild AFB, Wash., where he served as command chief for the 92nd Air Refueling Wing.