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The Ramstein Area Chiefs Group marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment by Air Force officials of the rank of chief master sergeant with a celebration to honor our enlisted heritage Dec. 1.
“To those on active duty today, the rank of chief master sergeant is viewed as something that has always been there” said Chief Master Sgt. Richard Zaferis, 603rd Air and Space Operations Center superintendent and emcee for the RACG golden anniversary celebration.
The reality is that the past 50 years have dimmed our memories of the events and reasons for those first super grade promotions.
When the Air Force became a separate entity on Sept. 18, 1947, master sergeant (E-7) was the highest enlisted rank a person could achieve. After the Korean War, however, grade suppression and stagnation was remedied with the creation by Congress of two new super grades as a part of the Career Compensation Act of 1958 or Public Law 422; 72 Staute 22, effective May 22, 1958. With this act the Air Force gained the ranks of chief master sergeant (E-9) and senior master sergeant (E-8). Air Force personnel officials conducted an in-depth study of all Air Force specialty codes and organized the career fields into highly technical, technical and non-technical fields.
It was decided that 1 percent of the master sergeants from the highly technical fields would be promoted to chief master sergeant. This is still true today, as only 1 percent of the enlisted force at any given time serve in the rank of chief.
There were 58,000 master sergeants who qualified for promotion to either of the two grades.
A promotion board was held to review records and look for demonstrated leadership and supervisory skills, evaluations and commander recommendations.
A total of 1,700 were selected for advancement but only 620 Airmen were promoted to the new top enlisted rank effective Dec. 1, 1959, becoming the Air Force’s charter chiefs. One of the original charter chiefs, retired Chief Master Sgt. James J. Flaschenriem, wrote, “The chief does not manage by fear or intimidation as the old first sergeant did, but by knowledge, training and great leadership ability.”
The rank has flourished since 1959, earning the respect of all other services and ranks. During the 1970s, Air Staff officials made “chief” the official term of address for an Air Force E-9.
“Every man or woman promoted to chief master sergeant has every right and should feel just as proud of their accomplishments as did the charter chiefs” Chief Zaferis said.
All Airmen should take pride in our Air Force and take time to visit the USAFE Enlisted Heritage Hall located in Bldg. 201 on Ramstein, or visit www.usafeenlistedheritage.org/.
Also, if the opportunity arises, visit the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Hall at Maxwell Air Force Base, Gunter Annex, Ala., or visit the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Research Institute online at http://afehri.maxwell.af.mil/.
