Enlisted aides invaluable to general officers

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shad Eidson
  • Air Force Print News
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  It's a unique Air Force career field that has Airmen leaving their homes every morning only to start work at someone else's house.

An enlisted aide assists a general officer with accomplishing their primary military and official duties. The position is a voluntary special assignment.

"(The Air Force is) hiring people who are interested in the field and have an attitude to go out and learn something new," said Master Sgt. Roy Bowser, who has been an enlisted aide seven years.

A former information manager, Sergeant Bowser has been an enlisted aide for Gen. William R. Looney III, Air Education and Training commander, for six years and chose to move with him through four assignments.

"He does what we don't have time to do as far as running the house," said Marilyn Looney. "But he is a lot more than that."

While an enlisted aide cooks during visits from local and foreign government officials, other tasks include administrative duties, property and grounds maintenance, entertainment, uniform care and supporting the general on temporary duty.

Being an aide doesn't separate Airmen from the rest of the Air Force. Sergeant Bowser just returned from a deployment as a superintendent for a protocol office at a forward operating location in Southwest Asia.

"We are all deployable," the sergeant said. "It's part of the contributions that we all have to make."