14th CMSAF mentors Moody Airmen

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Frances Kriss
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  The 14th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force recently visited the base to provide mentorship to Moody Air Force Base Airmen.

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Gerald Murray was stationed at Moody 14 years ago, when the 347th Wing was the host unit, and he was the 347th WG command chief master sergeant.

Because of his intimate knowledge of Moody and his experience as the 14th CMSAF, he was invited by Col. Gary Henderson, 23rd Wing commander, to talk about the priorities of the Air Force.

"It's an honor to be able to speak here," Chief Murray said. "It has been almost five years since I retired, but I always get excited when I have the opportunity to interact with Airmen again. It's also great to be back home where the mission is incredible and the community is very supportive."

During his visit, Chief Murray spoke about a variety of topics, including Moody's deployed Airmen, taking care of Airmen and their families and embracing the wingman concept.

"More than 1,000 Airmen are currently deployed from Moody and are directly in the fight today," he said. "There are also more than 1,000 wives, husbands and children of those deployed members here waiting for them to come home.

"I encourage you to think about those deployed Airmen and their families and keep in contact with them and their spouses," he added. "We must not forget about the wingman concept."

Chief Murray also emphasized the importance of individual career development and the five duties of a leader.

"We must continue to develop as leaders because we are not perfect," Chief Murray said. "Good leaders must learn to do five things: shape the future, establish relationships, deliver results, motivate the team and establish a solid foundation of core values. Also, take advantage of educational opportunities because it is vital to us."

After his speech, Chief Murray gave members of the audience an opportunity to him ask questions.

One member asked about future plans to increase training for joint expeditionary taskings. The chief's response was that there's already certain training where the instructors were recent returnees from joint deployments. As for the rest of training, Chief Murray said he was unsure of what the Air Force will do, but will bring it up to current Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Roy.

"It's great what Chief Murray's doing with the amount of interaction with Chief Roy even after he's retired," said Tech. Sgt. Shirley Soto, 23rd Fighter Group NCO in charge of intelligence readiness. "It's definitely something I think is important because he still cares about the enlisted corps. Overall, his speech was really interesting."

Chief Murray retired as the 14th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force in June 2006. He currently works for the Lockheed Martin Corporation in Marietta, Ga.