Celebrating Airmen - Air Force Ball guests inspire Monterey Airmen Published Sept. 21, 2010 By Lt. Col. Donna O'Harren 311th Training Squadron Commander PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. -- The Sept. 11 weekend was big for Monterey. Not only was it the nine-year remembrance of the tragic 9/11 events, it was also a time when past and present Air Force leaders came to the heart of California's Central Coast to celebrate our Air Force heritage and greatest asset - our Airmen. The 17th Training Wing Commander, Col. Thomas Geary, 17th Training Group Commander, Col. Guy Parker and his wife Shannon, 17th TRW Command Chief, Chief Master Sgt. Brendan Criswell, and retired Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Sam Parish joined Monterey Airmen, along with community and base leaders, for the 63rd Air Force Ball at the Portola Plaza Hotel in Monterey Bay Sept. 11. The weekend events started early Sept. 10, with Chief Criswell addressing a formation of nearly 1,000 Airmen from the 517th Training Group at the Air Force Heritage Exhibit. He commended the students for enduring one of the longest and most mentally rigorous training programs in the Defense Department, remarking that he could never be a linguist himself. After the formation, Chief Criswell joined several Airmen for breakfast at the dining facility and then made his way down the staff hallways of the 311th and 314th Training Squadrons, stopping at every member's doorway to learn their story and pass along words of appreciation and inspiration. When he got to the military training leaders, Chief Criswell spoke with them about their uniqueness in the Air Force because they actually have the word "leader" in their duty title, but emphasized that it's every Noncommissioned Officer's job to lead our Airmen. "If I have to make a correction as a Command Chief, then the entire NCO Corps has failed," the Chief said. Throughout the day, Chief Criswell visited squadrons around the base, toured the dorms, and met with staff, NCOs and Senior NCOs. While speaking with the staff about leadership and standards, he emphasized the need to avoid "creeping normalcy" by not getting so focused on the big things that we let the little things slip, such as uniform violations or customs and courtesy violations. "Every good leader has a few chinks in their armor," he said. "The key is to look in the mirror, find your chinks and start working on them." Joining Chief Criswell in Monterey the following day was Colonel Geary, who met with 517th TRG and squadron leadership to share some insight on the recent Intelligence Officer Development Team meeting. Monterey Airmen were also honored with the arrival of the eighth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, (retired) Chief Parish, as he addressed a 517th TRG student formation sharing his perspectives. He revealed to the Airmen that he had started off as a Chinese linguist but didn't make it and was retrained as a weather equipment operator serving in the Northeast Tier for most of his career with assignments to Germany mixed in here and there. He also elicited more than a few chuckles when he mentioned he has been retired for longer than many of the Airmen have been alive. Retired Chief Parish was also the guest speaker at the Air Force Ball later that day. He began his speech by remarking how appropriate the theme, "Celebrating our greatest asset - our Airmen," was. Following a brief history of the Air Force from his perspective, he emphasized how important it is for every Airmen to do the very best job they can, no matter how lowly their duties may seem or how high-level their jobs may become. Although retired Chief Parish said he was no longer an active part of our Air Force, following his speech, 517th TRG Commander, Col. William "Terry" Bare, was quick to correct him, saying instead he was still very much an active part of our great Air Force and that the wealth of experience and historical perspectives he brought to Monterey Airmen was truly humbling and inspiring. (Senior Master Sgt. Renee Concentine, 517th Training Group Military Training Superintendent, contributed to this article.)