ANG welcomes new command chief

  • Published
  • By Army Master Sgt. Bob Haskell
  • National Guard Bureau
ARLINGTON, Va. (AFPN) --  Confident that he still has a lot to give to this country, Chief Master Sgt. Richard Smith is preparing to move from his home in rural Lexington, Ohio, to Washington to become the ninth command chief master sergeant of the Air National Guard.

"My appetite to serve is still there," said Chief Smith, 52, who on Aug. 1 will succeed Chief Master Sgt. Valerie Benton as the senior advocate for the Air National Guard's 97,000 enlisted Airmen. He will work for Lt. Gen. Daniel James III, ANG director.

Chief Smith is a traditional guardsman, who will leave his position as command chief master sergeant of the Ohio ANG to succeed Chief Benton, who has held the ANG's top enlisted position since June 7, 2001.

Chief Benton will retire after 25 consecutive years of service in the ANG and active Air Force. Chief Smith said he will begin learning the ropes of his new job when he begins working with Chief Benton in early June.

Chief Smith may be new to Washington, but he has learned plenty about the challenges Airmen encounter during their deployments worldwide.

He is chairman of the ANG's Enlisted Field Advisory Council, and he has been the command chief for the Ohio ANG since July 2000.

About 2,000 Ohio Airmen, 38 percent of that state's force, were on duty in this country and abroad a year after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Chief Smith said.

Although he has remained a traditional guardsman since enlisting in 1971, the chief has worked virtually fulltime, about 300 days a year, as Ohio's command chief, he said. That was possible because he retired after 28 years in the banking business in 1998.

"About 70 percent of our force is traditional or part-time," Chief Smith said. "I bring that perspective to this job. I'm a traditional guy, who is coming from the field. I've never been a full-timer. I understand, for example, the concerns that we have about our civilian employers."

He also has been a chief master sergeant since January 1990. Chief Smith has helped the ANG mature into a global force during the nonstop deployments that began in August 1990 with operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He deployed to England in January 1991.

"The first Gulf War was the turning point," Chief Smith said. "Now we have the same equipment that the active Air Force has, and in some cases we're getting more modern equipment. We're a totally professional force that is just as good, if not better, than the active component. Our Guard people, on average, are older and have more experience.

"A lot of the Air Guard people have worked in the same shops for years. They know those planes and our other systems, inside and out because they don't transfer to new assignments every three years," he said.

Chief Smith served in the medical field during his first 27 years in uniform, and he was the chief of medical services for the 317th Contingency Hospital in England for the first three months of 1991.

He said he returned to Ohio in April 1991 after it was clear that the Gulf War would not result in nearly as many casualties as officials had feared.

"I was an Eagle Scout, and I taught courses in basic first aid. I couldn't get into the finance career field when I joined the Guard, so the medical field was a good alternative," Chief Smith said. "I was lucky, because it gave me the chance to do something different during drill weekends and annual training while I was working as a loan officer in a bank."

He said he believes the Air Guard's enlisted force is in solid shape, and he is impressed with the young people who are putting on blue uniforms.

"The force is the most professional it has ever been. The morale and patriotism have never been higher," the chief said. "I'm excited about the younger generation. Their enthusiasm and knowledge amazes me."

Chief Smith and his wife, Debbie, have been married for 25 years. Their son, Richie, is a senior at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., and their daughter Katie is in high school.