9th AF command chief retires after 28 years

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Alexandria Mosness
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  During his enlistment process,  now-retired Chief Master Sgt. Scott Dearduff called in sick at his construction job so his boss at the time wouldn't know he was enlisting. He knew his boss would be mad because he was losing a great worker.

But the chief didn't call in sick this time when he retired from the military here July 23, after more than 28 years in the Air Force.

To truly understand the man who is regularly noted for taking care of Airmen and putting Airmen first, the story must start at the beginning and his decision to join the Air Force.

It was July 1981, and just a regular "Joe" at the time, Chief Dearduff was in an in-between place in his life. His goal of playing baseball didn't come to fruition, and he was working a local construction job. So, he did what any young man would do: he sought advice from his father.

"I talked to my dad," he said. "He told me that I couldn't do construction the rest of my life and told me how he joined the Air Force when he was my age. He served for four years, learned about life and got out. He thought it would be good for me."

It didn't take much time for the chief to agree with his father, and he enlisted in the Air Force as a security specialist.

Although he never planned to stay as long as he did, he said, something changed within him.

"I fell in love with the idea of serving," he said. "But, even during the first enlistment, I wasn't sure that I was going to stay."

It was a talk with his older brother, whom he says he looked up to and still admires to this day, that made him re-up for one more enlistment.

"To put it nicely, he told me he wouldn't be too happy with me if I got out," he added.

"Plus, I had just been promoted to staff sergeant, and there were some things I still wanted to do."

Although the chief didn't know it at the time, this choice would seal the deal for his career in the Air Force.

Originally, Chief Dearduff strove only to make it to the rank of master sergeant.

"I remember standing on post as an airman first class and thinking when I'm a master sergeant, I'm going to do a better job of how I am being taken care of as an Airman."

He not only managed to achieve that goal, but go way beyond it.

But there was one noncommissioned officer who taught him the greatest lesson of his career and he still credits him to this day.

"Master Sgt. Browning inspired me to want to become a master sergeant," he reiterated. "When he walked into a room, he commanded respect. His uniform was put together, he was sharp and he knew the answers to the questions."

"But the biggest thing was when he told me I was not as good as I thought I was. He showed me that I needed to think about what I was doing. He told me to focus on what I had at hand. If I was going to be a senior airman, I needed to be the best senior airman.

"Once I mastered that, then I could move on. I have always looked back to his message throughout my career, and I will continue to for the rest of my life."

Chief Dearduff not only mastered his ranks, but he also made a name for being vigilant about his Airmen.

"The biggest thing that hit me about chief was the way he took care of the Airmen," said Master Sgt. Tommy Wright, 20th Fighter Wing command chief assistant. "I remember at one chief's call, he had set up a full spread of food with shrimp and cocktail sauce. He had bought all of it from his own pocket and never thought twice about it. He just wanted to show his people how much he cared, and it really showed through."

The Daytona Beach, Fla., native especially took care of his Airmen downrange.

"I called them family post checks," Chief Dearduff said. "When I went to the desert, I would somehow find them and talk to them. When I got back here, I would tell the family member I saw them and say post check complete."

And, the chief did a lot of those checks as he has been deployed 1,200 days in the last eight years. But he never complained.

"Chief is the prototype image of warrior Airmen," Sergeant Wright remarked. "There aren't many chiefs that would be grounding pounding outside the wire as much as he was these last few years. The Air Force truly lost a great warrior. He left some big shoes to fill, but I am very thankful for the mentoring he did with me."

One thing the chief learned with being gone so much was the Air Force family.

"No one told me when I enlisted I would be getting another family," the chief added. "I could never walk into a deployed location without seeing someone I knew or someone who knew me."

And that family carries even back to the States.

"I tell people I could drive a square around the country and not have to buy gas, pay for food or pay for lodging. I would pick up the phone and call when I got to a town and my Air Force family would be there to help me out."

There would only be one dilemma.

"Some of the places I would go through, I would get called later and asked why didn't you call me," he joked. "That's a good dilemma to have."

With more than 28 years of Air Force service, the veteran plans on concentrating on his family and their future move to Phoenix, Ariz.

"I will take what I have learned from the military and use it in the private sector, he concluded. "I also plan on writing a book to tell the story of the 13 Airmen that were lost on one of my previous deployments. I want to honor those Airmen and keep their memory alive."

The Chief ends his story and his career with a thought for Airmen to think about.

"I was the average kid with average intelligence," he said. "But, I had a lot of passion and motivation and found out with that you can be very successful."