What's in a diamond?

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Scott Marsich
  • Air Force Institute of Technology First Sergeant
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) --  Like so many other Airmen, throughout my career I came to work, gave 100 percent of myself and worked my way through the junior ranks.

My primary mission five days a week was to diagnose and fix the electronic countermeasures systems on the B-52 Stratofortress and B-1B Lancers. I worked the flightline for more than 18 years and loved every minute of it, but as you’ve heard, the only thing constant in the Air Force is change. 

In the spring of 1999, Master Sgt. Kerry Yost, first sergeant for the 28th Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, offered me what can only be deemed as the opportunity of a lifetime. Sergeant Yost asked if I wanted to help out half-days in the “shirt’s” office at the 28th BS.

I was a technical sergeant at the time so I figured my role was probably going to be tied to administrative tasks, but nothing could have been further from the truth. In fact, what Sergeant Yost was offering me was a first-hand look into the world of the Air Force first sergeant. I gladly accepted and followed Sergeant Yost around the base, where I had the opportunity to meet others in the business of helping people.

The next nine months changed my life. Before this experience, my perception of the first sergeant was very skewed as I, like so many other Airmen, thought that the shirt was there strictly to discipline Airmen when they fell out of line. Sergeant Yost showed me how wrong I was. 

Late in 1999, I found out that I had a line number for master sergeant. Sergeant Yost had asked me a couple of times before the promotion release if I had ever thought about actually becoming a first sergeant. Before my time as an additional duty first sergeant, my answer would have probably been, “No, thank you, Ma’am.”

But after considering my opportunities, I had to ask myself: If I could have any job in the entire world, what would I do? The answer came to me in a moment of clarity. With the encouragement and support of our commander, I applied to cross-train into the first sergeant career field. 

Seven years and five squadrons later, the diamond is still proudly displayed on my uniform. This was unequivocally the best decision I ever made. I get to wear this unique chevron because I was given an opportunity to see what an Air Force first sergeant actually does.

For instance, I get the chance to directly affect the future success of our young Airmen as I badger them into taking college classes. I have the opportunity to correct ill-fated financial decisions by troops barely old enough to vote as I shepherd them through the Personal Financial Management Program.

Simply put, I now have the opportunity to directly reach out and touch the lives of hundreds of Air Force members and so do you. If you are a master sergeant or a technical sergeant with a line number and you’d like to know why, after almost seven years in this line of work, I still think it’s the best job in the Air Force, just ask your shirt to afford you the same opportunity that Sergeant Yost gave me in 1999. 

So many people have asked me when I’m going to retire and my answer never changes. I tell them that I’ll keep doing this as long as I believe I am making a difference. I wake up every day with a small amount of guilt because I just can’t believe I get to do this job and get a paycheck on top of it.

First sergeants have a creed that we live and die by. Wherever I go, I carry a round metal object in my pocket inscribed with a line that reads: “I am an Air Force first sergeant, my job is people. Everyone is my business.” There’s no better feeling than making a difference in people’s lives.

If you could have any job in the world, what would you do?