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AETC inducts newest member into Order of the Sword

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Paul Kilgallon
  • Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  More than 300 Airmen from across Air Education and Training Command gathered in a formal ceremony at the Gateway Club on Lackland AFB July 16, to induct Gen. Stephen R. Lorenz, Air Education and Training Command commander, into the Order of the Sword.

General Lorenz is the sixth leader AETC Airmen have chosen for the honor.

The general was informed of his nomination when speaking to a class at the Airman Leadership School here. When he walked into the classroom, he was met by Chief Master Sgt. Robert Tappana, AETC Command Chief Master Sergeant, several other chief master sergeants and the general's wife, Leslie. There they read the official invitation stating the Airmen of AETC wished to induct him into the Order of the Sword.

"I was just speechless," General Lorenz said. "I was very surprised, and am privileged to be honored by the most professional force in the entire world, the number one enlisted force in the entire world. It is just an amazing feeling, and I am just humbled."

During his remarks at the ceremony, General Lorenz, the driving force behind the Community College of the Air Force's General Education Mobile Program, said, "The enlisted force today reflects the history of the United States Air Force and service members today stand on the shoulders of giants."

The general's message to the gathered enlisted Airmen also covered the service's foundation in the Army Air Corps and the Army Air Service.

"Over the years our service and our people have become more and more professional and more and more educated," he said. "With three generations in the Air Force today, each generation brings different talents and experiences to the fight.

"Today our Air Force is the best in the history of our force," added General Lorenz, who transformed Air University into streamlined centers for professional education, research and doctrinal development. "This is because of our bright young noncommissioned officer and Airman corps.

We take bright, shiny, young Americans, send them to basic military training and then technical training to get education and experience, and then we send them off today in harm's way around the world."

The general said he is impressed when he looks at the younger generation in today's Air Force.

"They are making such a difference in Afghanistan, Iraq the Horn of Africa, and around the world; they are so impressive and professional on how they do things," General Lorenz said. "The things they are doing today are shaping the future of the world and not just the future of our country."

During the ceremony, Chief Tappana explained to the general why he was chosen for the Order of the Sword. He said the sword is given only to deserving leaders; and the recipient must not only be an amazing leader, but also demonstrate an unrelenting dedication to the enlisted corps.

"General Lorenz has a long record of taking care of enlisted people -- especially during his time at Air University and while commanding AETC," Chief Tappana said. "Under his watch, we have seen the creation of the Air University's Associate to Bachelor cooperative. Enlisted Airmen used to struggle to get degrees; they now have a fully transportable program with 40 universities that take all of our Community College of the Air Force credits."

Presentation of the Order of the Sword is important for enlisted Airmen, Chief Tappana said, because it is the way Airmen say "thank you" and to recognize outstanding leadership.

"Enlisted people and officers decades from now will look back and reflect on his record and his contributions to our Air Force," Chief Tappana added. "He is a part of Air Force history, and I think it is important that this recognition come from us (the Airmen of AETC)."

General Lorenz said he is truly humbled to be selected for this honor.

"Every Airman out there, every chief, master and technical sergeant, who this sword represents, needs to continue to strive for excellence," he said. "Although you don't always get an award for that, the greatest award you get is knowledge of service to the nation and service to other people."

The general told the audience that one of his favorite photographs is one of a chief master sergeant deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq, who came back night after night to comfort a baby shot by anti-Iraqi forces.
"To me that represented his service to the nation and to the Air Force, and that is what it's all about," General Lorenz said. "That chief to me is the epitome of what our NCO corps is all about ... service to others. He made a difference in that baby's life and that chief made a difference in my life -- for he represents all that is good in America."

General Lorenz's father, Col. (retired) J. Edward Lorenz, who was enlisted during World War II, shared his pride in his son's selection.

"He has worked with enlisted personnel all of his career, from being an aircraft commander, flight commander, squadron commander, group and wing commander and so forth," Colonel Lorenz said. "I think he has worked really hard, and I am glad to hear that AETC Airmen selected him for this high honor."

Colonel Lorenz said his son's first introductions to enlisted personnel were as a Boy Scout and playing in Little League Baseball.

"The coaches and the Boy Scout leaders worked with him and I think that's where he got his first appreciation for the enlisted members in the Air Force," he said. "This provided him with an incentive to become a leader, and I think this was instrumental in his deciding to become a military officer and to make the military his career."
Colonel Lorenz recalled his son always being a good leader and deciding a long time ago that he wanted to join the Air Force and attend the Air Force Academy.

"When I was going to missile school at Lowry Air Force Base, he came down to spend a weekend at the Air Force Academy with a friend of his," Colonel Lorenz said. "He decided that he wanted to go to that school, and he never deterred. He showed leadership while at the Academy, and he was later selected to be a cadet squadron commander.

"He follows the core values of the Air Force: Integrity, Service Before Self, and Excellence in everything you do, which characterize the person he has become," the proud father said.