Enlisted Perspective commemorates the 'first'

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SAN ANTONIO (AFNEWS) --  Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the appointment of the first chief master sergeant of the Air Force is the subject of the latest Enlisted Perspective by Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney J. McKinley.

Chief McKinley said that as the first CMSAF, Paul Airey forged new paths for the enlisted Airmen, and he continues to serve Airmen today as well.

"Chief Airey has never stopped working for Airmen. During his chief-master-sergeant-of-the-Air Force tenure, he advocated for an Air Force-level senior NCO academy," wrote Chief McKinley. "His vision became reality when the academy opened in 1973, becoming the capstone in the development of our senior NCOs."

Chief McKinley said Chief Airey attends almost every graduation at the Senior NCO Academy and leads the former CMSAF panel where they speak to the students on the past, present and future of the enlisted force.

Chief Airey joined the Army Air Forces in 1940. During World War II he was an aerial gunner on B-24 Liberator bombers and is credited with 28 combat missions in Europe.  He was shot down over Austria and ended up in a German prisoner of war camp near the Baltic Sea. Later, he and 6,000 fellow POWs were forced to march 400 miles to another camp near Berlin. He was liberated in 1945.

Chief Airey reenlisted in the Air Force after completing a recuperation leave. He went to Naha Air Base, Okinawa, where he was responsible for radio repair. He was awarded the Legion of Merit, unusual for an enlisted person, for saving more than a million dollars in electronic equipment that would have deteriorated without the corrosion control assembly line he developed.

At his next assignment, at Scott AFB, Ill., he chose to become a first sergeant. During the next 14 years, he would hold first-sergeant assignments at five bases, setting him up for the ultimate enlisted job. He was installed April 3, 1967, by former Air Force Chief of Staff John P. McConnell. At the ceremony, General McConnell told him, "You've got the job. Run with it."

Without an Air Force precedent, Chief Airey made the job his. He worked to change loan establishments charging exorbitant rates outside air base gates and to improve low retention during the Vietnam Conflict. Chief Airey also led a team that laid the foundation for the Weighted Airman Promotion System, a system that the Air Force still uses today.

When his two-year term was up, he accepted an assignment to Tyndall AFB, Fla., for a year so he could complete 30 years of service. He retired Aug. 1, 1970.

Chief McKinley said that Chief Airey is tireless in his retirement by continuing his fight for the rights of Airmen. Chief Airey serves on the boards of numerous Air Force and enlisted military organizations. He is currently a member of the board of trustees for the Airmen Memorial Museum, and a member of the Air Force Memorial Foundation and the Air University Foundation.

Chief McKinley's Enlisted Perspective and other senior leader viewpoints can be found in the Library section of Air Force Link.

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