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Gen. Frank Gorenc, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa commander (left), presents Chief Master Sgt. James E. Davis, USAFE-AFAFRICA command chief, a certificate for the Legion of Merit during Davis’ retirement ceremony June 13 on Ramstein. Davis entered in the Air Force in 1986, served for 30 years and has been stationed at Ramstein since August 2013.
The command chief for U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, Chief Master Sgt. James E. Davis, spent a last few moments reflecting on his 30-year military career before retiring June 13.
He came into the Air Force as a young man from Memphis, Tennessee, searching for something different. But Davis said the influence of one individual was all it took to make his new job and steady paycheck become a career with real possibilities.
“I really hadn’t found my way, and along came sergeant Harry Washington. … He said to me specifically, ‘There’s something different about you,’” the chief recalled. “And that really changed my whole perspective.”
The encounter with his former mentor is something that Chief Davis said ultimately changed the direction of his life.
“It made me want to be a better Airman because he somehow saw something in me that I didn’t see,” Davis said.
Over the next three decades, Davis won several recognition awards, became a supervisor, manager and leader, earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree, and became a husband and father. Through it all, he supported the Air Force to the best of his ability as it changed and adapted to meet mission requirements across the globe. He said he did all this by following his “BOOT.”
“I use this acronym called BOOT, and the B is be responsible. Be responsible to yourself. Be responsible to your Airmen. Be responsible to your supervisors. You’ve got to be responsible,” Davis explained.
The first O is for owning up to mistakes when they happen.
“Everybody makes mistakes, but you’ve got to be willing to own yours,” the chief said. “And the other O is that opportunities exist every day to succeed or fail. Guess what? Our Airmen get to choose which one they want to do.”
Lastly, Davis explained that the T is treat everyone with dignity and respect.
“If that’s something that I leave behind, remember the BOOT,” the chief said.
Davis said the BOOT philosophy is not about getting promoted but rather about being successful in what you do, and eventually the promotion will come.
Although he expressed excitement about heading home to Tennessee, the 30-year veteran has a few things he knows he will miss about being in the Air Force — particularly, its people and the bonds of service that connect them.
“(It’s) the commonality, the like-mindedness, (working) toward a common goal,” Davis said. “Seeing the uniform, no matter whether it’s U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy or the Marines, it doesn’t matter. … It’s something that we have in common, that only one percent of Americans get to do, and that’s what I’ll miss the most.”
But before he takes off the uniform for the last time, the chief has one last piece of advice for all Airmen. In true chief fashion, he ends his career with a reflection on the pillars of resiliency.
“The success that I’ve had starts with my faith because that is the foundation for everything that I have done, not only in the military but also with my family,” Davis said “We need to capitalize on the models that we have out there — the spiritual piece, the mental piece, the physical piece, the social piece. We have to embrace those because that’s what’s going to allow you to be successful.”
