Article Display

The impact of CMSAF Paul Wesley Airey

  • Published
  • By Retired Chief Master Sgt. James Lokovic
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  March 11, 2009, the first Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Paul Wesley Airey, left this world at the age of 85. His remains were buried May 28 in a place of honor at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Although Paul had numerous medical challenges during his final years, he fought on until the end and continued appearing at numerous venues where he could express his love of Airmen, and they could share in his unique role in history.
When I heard of Paul's passing, I thought, as did an incalculable number of other men and women, "What a wonderful accident of Nature that I got to participate in Chief Airey's life." And what an extraordinary life it was! 

Born December 13, 1923, in Bedford, Mass., he spent his childhood, during the years of the Great Depression, in Quincy, Mass. Nearly a year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, in 1942, Paul quit high school and, after being turned away by a Navy recruiter, entered the Army Air Corps. He served as a radio operator and aerial gunner in Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers during World War II and was credited with 28 combat missions, flying with the 15th Air Force in Europe. 

After his aircraft was shot down over German-held Hungary, Tech. Sergeant Airey was captured and spent almost a year in a German prisoner-of-war camp. His keen sense of discipline, common sense and mutual support among the prisoners helped him during his capture--a time prior to the institution of the Code of Conduct. 

During his POW experience, with the Allies moving closer in February 1945, Airey and 6,000 fellow prisoners were forced to undertake a brutal march of about 400 miles for 90 days to another camp deeper into Germany at Luneberg. Finally, he was liberated by the British Second Army on May 2, 1945. At that time, he weighed less than 100 pounds, about two-thirds his normal weight. After a three-month recuperation in the United States, Sergeant Airey returned to duty. 

During the Korean War, he was stationed at Naha Air Base, Okinawa, as the NCOIC of Communications. There he developed a corrosion control assembly line to counter tropical moisture, a measure that earned him the Legion of Merit, a medal normally awarded only to senior officers. 

Over the next 14 years, he held first sergeant assignments at five bases. He said, "Of all the jobs I had in the Air Force, I think first sergeant was probably the best. I liked it. I liked the discipline part of it. I liked being able to counsel and lead. You never knew what was going to happen, day or night." It was from a "first shirt" assignment at Tyndall AFB that, in 1967, Chief Airey was selected by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. McConnell to be the first Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, advisor to Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown and the chief of staff. 

During the installation ceremony April 3, 1967, nearly 20 years after the Air Force stood up as in independent service, General McConnell referred to the new Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force position as, "90 percent common sense and 10 percent knowledge." General McConnell told the Chief, "You've got the job. Run with it."
Paul took those words to heart and was greatly responsible for shaping the Air Force enlisted corps we know today. He served in the highest enlisted position from April 3, 1967, to July 21, 1969. 

During his tenure, he worked at improving low retention rates during the Vietnam War, often visiting the war zone. Such visits to the troops became a hallmark of his tenure.
Realizing the inequities of the Air Force promotion system, he led a team that laid the foundation for the Weighted Airman Promotion System, still in use today. He also advocated for an Air Force-level senior NCO academy, to build a professional cadre of senior NCOs, steeped in the lessons of history, leadership and management.
Upon completion of his tenure as CMSAF, he returned to Tyndall AFB, once again as a first sergeant, and retired a year later on August 1, 1970. 

However, Chief Airey wasn't done shaping the Air Force. He continued to advocate for enlisted members by going to work as a regional director for the Air Force Sergeants Association. Since then, and up until the end, he traveled extensively to speak to enlisted and commissioned groups, always the ultimate role model for Airmen. 

From Airman Leadership Schools, to NCO academies, to the USAF Senior NCO Academy, to gatherings of professional military associations, to one-on-one visits at Air Force bases around the world, he proclaimed a consistent message: "Love your Air Force. Always do the very best job you can." 

Chief Airey was a sought-after speaker and panelist, our anchor to the very beginnings of the Air Force and a guiding star, the embodiment of professionalism who oversaw the continuing development of the greatest Air Force on the planet.
At the time of his passing, he was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Airmen Memorial Museum, and a member of the Air Force Memorial Foundation and the Air University Foundation. 

Upon the chief's passing, his daughter, Ellen Reid, said, "He had this huge will to fight, and he knew a few days before it was time. He was always a religious man, and he knew that he was going to fly away." 

Chief Airey's son, retired Chief Master Sgt. Dale Airey, said about his dad, "He inspired confidence; he inspired pride. He made people feel good about themselves."
CMSAF Rodney J. McKinley, the 15th CMSAF said, "Chief Airey is the most respected enlisted Airman in the history of the Air Force. When we speak of today's Airmen standing upon the shoulders of giants, as they reach for the sky and stars, it was upon Paul Airey's shoulders they stood. We will truly miss his leadership, counsel and friendship." 

It has been said, "When you are gone, they will not remember your great acts or the profound words you spoke . . . (people) will remember how you made them feel."
Without question, CMSAF Paul Wesley Airey made us feel proud to be Airmen. He made us understand that precision and attention-to-detail are critical competencies; that shaping the Airmen who will follow is a vital necessity; that an understanding of Air Force heritage is very important to the success of today's Air Force; and that our beloved Air Force will only continue to prosper as a service if we (Airmen) invest into our very beings, "Integrity First; Service Before Self; and Excellence in All We Do."
Chief Paul Airey often cited a quotation attributed to Plato which said, "Only the dead have seen the end of war." 

It is good to know that after having shown us the way, lived a full life in the service of others, and held the Air Force in his hand for so many years, Paul may now rest at peace with a profound sense of "mission accomplished."