HomeNewsArticle Display


Redirecting...

Maxwell-Gunter mourns passing of first CMSAF

  • Published
  • By Carl Bergquist
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  News of the passing of the first Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, retired Chief Master Sgt. Paul Wesley Airey, in Panama City, Fla., brought a sadness to Maxwell-Gunter, March 11.

A champion of the Air Force enlisted corps and Air Force values to the end, Chief Airey was a familiar face at the Barnes Center, as he made it a point to speak to nearly every Senior NCO Academy class and attended numerous enlisted functions and events at Gunter Annex.

Reaction to the chief's death came from across the Air Force with the Chief of Staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz, saying Wednesday in an Air Force Print News article, "Chief Airey was an Airman's Airman and one of the true pioneers for our service."

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney McKinley referred to Chief Airey in the print news story as the most respected Airman in the history of the Air Force.

"When we speak of today's Airmen standing on the shoulders of giants as they reach for the sky and stars, it was upon Paul Airey's shoulders they stood," he said. "We will truly miss his leadership, counsel and friendship."

Chief Master Sgt. Mark Repp, 42nd Air Base Wing command chief, said, "Chief Airey's service to the Air Force has ended, but his ground-breaking legacy will stand eternal." 

Chief Master Sgt. Brye McMillon, Air University command chief, said Chief Airey has been a mainstay during the rise and fall of various leaders.

"He established, lived and enforced the standards. He was, is, and always will be the model Airmen," Chief McMillon said. "I am grateful for the example he set, the leadership he modeled, and the friendship he shared. I am who I am, because he set the pace. Chief Paul Airey, is a true American hero."

In 1967, while the country and military were embroiled in the unpopular and bloody war in Vietnam, then-Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. John McConnell, asked Chief Airey to assume the duties of a new Air Force position. General McConnell titled the position Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force, and it was established to have a senior NCO available to address the concerns and issues of the enlisted corps and present them to senior Air Force leadership at the Pentagon.

Chief Airey spent two years and four months as the first CMSAF, and found the job a challenge.

"In my day, my biggest problem was keeping the job going, as we were up to our necks in Vietnam," the chief said in a 2007 interview. "Now, the CMSAF goes to Corona. I think the change is for the better because it shows the job has proven itself to be worthwhile to the Air Force."

Beginning his military career as a B-24 Liberator gunner during World War II and ending up a prisoner of war in Germany, the chief spent much of his Air Force career as a first sergeant, and was proudest of his involvement in getting the Weighted Airman Promotion System in place and the enlisted assignments system rectified during his tenure as CMSAF.

Following retirement in 1970, after 27 years of service, Chief Airey also took pride in visiting Gunter's NCO Academy and Air Force Senior NCO Academy in a mentoring capacity. His efforts for the Air Force enlisted corps have earned him the respect and admiration of many generations of enlisted Airmen.

"I think it's an obligation for former CMSAFs to stay involved in the mentoring and training process in as many ways as possible," the chief confided in 2007. "I have always believed in the concepts of 'duty, honor and country,' and I have two four-letter words I often use. They are zeal and duty."

During the 2007 interview, Chief Airey said he felt the job of CMSAF was also important because it gave Airmen going through basic training a goal to shoot for. He said over the past 40 years the job had broadened, and today's CMSAF was involved in "considerably more than I was."

"It's scary how fast the time has gone," he said. "It's hard to believe we are on our 15th chief master sergeant of the Air Force."