Enlisted graduates honored at ceremony

  • Published
  • By Shawn Jacobs
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  The lobby of the Administration and Engineering Building (A&E) was nearly full Sept. 22 as Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) held a graduation ceremony for six enlisted personnel who received college degrees this year.

The guest speaker was Chief Master Sgt. Brian Randolph, command chief of the 46th Test Wing at Eglin AFB, who congratulated the graduates and reminded them how valuable their degrees could be to their career both during and after their enlistment. He pointed out that the Air Force has the highest rate of enlisted personnel with college degrees among all of the armed forces. He then joined AEDC Commander Col. Michael Brewer in handing out diplomas to the graduates.

Colonel Brewer reminded the graduates that their diplomas are symbols of achievement and that "commencement" is really only the beginning of using their new degrees to benefit the mission.

The graduates and the degrees they received included Master Sgt. Patrick Lazarus, quality assurance superintendant, Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership, Ashford University; Tech. Sgt. John Bankston, NCO in charge (NCOIC), Financial Services, Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, Middle Tennessee State University; Tech. Sgt. James Key, weapons safety manager, Associate of Applied Science in Munitions Systems Technology, Community College of the Air Force; Senior Airman Eric Ball, financial services technician, Associate of Applied Science in Financial Management, Community College of the Air Force; and Senior Airman Tara Kindermann, financial services technician, Associate of Applied Science in Financial Management, Community College of the Air Force. Tech. Sgt. Danielle Morris, NCOIC, TRICARE Operations, who was unable to be present, received her Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration from Columbia Southern University.

After the ceremony, Chief Master Sergeant Randolph said it is appropriate to promote education because it means better mission and effectiveness for the Air Force.

"More than that is what it means to the individual," Chief Master Sergeant Randolph said. "We may not even realize when we're doing the classes - associate degree, bachelor's, master's - what it is going to mean to us outside or after the Air Force. Monetarily, in the job that you decide to do after the Air Force, you can see pay increases based on levels of education. [Additionally are the] the personal experiences and things they achieve in the classroom that they would have no clue [about] other than [from being] in the classroom.

"I'm very proud of them. I'm proud of all of our enlisted airmen who set out to achieve a goal and achieve it. Education is one of these goals. There are others that are out there, whether it's enlisted PME [professional military education], PCSing [permanent change of station], deployments - there are several goals."

Colonel Brewer said Chief Master Sergeant Randolph's attendance was an honor in itself.

"There's nothing better than having a chief master sergeant come to kick this off, so thanks to Brian Randolph who came up from Eglin to kick the festivities off," Colonel Brewer said.

He agreed with Chief Master Sergeant Randolph that both the individual and the Air Force benefit from the enlisted personnel's education achievements.

"It's certainly good for the individual and it's a betterment for them, but it also makes the Air Force better because we have sharper guys [and] more educated folks both in the field and here doing the training so it makes us all better to get the mission done. Clearly, that's what it's all about ultimately.

"What's great is if you look around the audience, this is not a military audience. This is not a civil service audience; this is not a contractor audience. This is a civil service, military and contractor audience and that just points to what a team this is supporting us regardless of which background we came from to do the mission."

Dee Wolfe, education specialist in the Arnold Education and Training Office was the mistress of ceremonies for the event and said she was very pleased with the attendance.

"The Education and Training Office is always thrilled when we have 'standing room only' at any of our events because it shows the support we have from the base populace," she said. "This is a big endeavor for our enlisted personnel and they deserve this recognition. Having so many people turn out shows that base personnel genuinely support enlisted education and individual achievement.

"This is a big achievement, especially when you consider these degrees were earned while working full time, going on deployments and dealing with other family and military issues," she said. "It is important for us to take the time and effort to recognize the graduates for all their hard work and dedication."

This was the third such graduation ceremony held at Arnold since 2008.

Wolfe thanked Colonel Brewer and Chief Master Sergeant Randolph for participating in the event.

"Without the assistance and support of various agencies and individuals across the base as well as funding from the Top 4, we could not have organized such a successful event," Wolfe said.