Chief Master Sergeant Kaleth Wright named Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Average NCO heartily approves of the Air Force choice for Chief Master Sergeant Kaleth Wright to take the reins as the senior noncommissioned officer of the Air Force, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. From the Air Force Times;
Wright previously served as the command chief of the 3rd Air Force and 17th Expeditionary Air Force at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan in Kabul, and the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.
He deployed to support operations Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and is a recipient of the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, and other awards and decorations.
Wright, who enlisted in 1989, spent the bulk of his career in the dental career field in assignments to South Korea, Kadena Air Base in Japan, and Germany, as well as serving as a professional military education instructor. He has also won nine assorted dental NCO and SNCO of the Year awards.
Good luck, Chief, we’ll be watching.
Category: Air Force
Damn … He has great teeth!
Good luck and “take care of your Airmen”.
Is this a duffelblog post?
“Don’t fire until you see the whites of their teeth….”
Keep those teeth in the fight no more cat fours.
Good luck, Chief. Do a good job. You’ll have a new boss before long.
Yeah yeah, everybody loves trashing on us dental techs….and then they beg for our help when they get a toothache at 0200. I will say this about my old profession. All those hours spent making small-talk with your patients waiting for the dentist to come in and conduct the checkup….you learn a lot about everybody’s job. I don’t know Chief Wright but I’ve heard about him from colleagues for long time and it’s always been extremely positive.
I’m sure most of the trashing is in good fun…I myself pumped gas and drove a HEMTT, because somebody had to.
Apologies if it seemed I was actually offended by the good-natured ball busting directed at my fellow spit suckers. No I worries….I wasn’t triggered and I don’t require a safe-space with Play-Doh and coloring book.
Good on ya mate
Good luck Chief Wright – keep your teeth and your nose clean, and take care of your troops.
What is that goofy looking badge he has on all about? You have got to be shitting me with this guy.
A Dental Tech with a Bronze Star? His meritorious service during the battle of Gingivitis must have been really exceptional.
This guy is the poster child for why I no longer have much respect left for military awards. A chest full of medals and ribbons and badges…Oh my. This is a joke.
My brother joined the Air Force as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. My mother tells people that both of her sons are veterans…ya, well not so much.
We now live in a world that glorifies people who join the military and refuse to fight. My brother has been a pussy all of his life. Nice guy, likable, but the man wouldn’t say shit if he had a mouth full of it. Its embarrassing to be called a veteran in the same breath with him.
Now this guy will be glorified as the head enlisted man in the Air Force. I realize its the Air Force but you have got to be shitting me.
There is no way I can believe out of the entire Air Force there isn’t another guy with some actual military experience that isn’t more deserving than this clown.
PC bullshit at its finest.
No comment on your brother. I realize that I’m on the outside looking in, but concerning CMS Wright…
“Every man does his job. Every man is important. The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns, the quartermaster is needed to bring up the food and clothes for us because where we are going there isn’t a hell of a lot to steal. Every last damn man in the mess hall, even the one who boils the water to keep us from getting the GI shits, has a job to do.”
–GEN George S. Patton jr.
Just sayin’.
Completely agree. I spent part of my career as an Admin Clerk. Loved my time not having to wash sand out of my ass and being home by 5 every day.
The senior enlisted person in any branch is mostly a symbolic position. One that every enlisted person should strive to emulate.
I hold the virtue of Valor above all other qualities. This guy is no doubt a great leader.
I have no idea who the other E9’s in the Air Force are…is he an example of the quality I hold in highest regard. Nah.
Is there a better example of it out there somewhere in the Air Force? As Sarah would say, “You betcha”.
The same can be said of the Marine Corps right now. Green is an outstanding REMF. Qualified and capable leader, no doubt of that.
Not one award for Valor of any kind. Nuttin, Nada, Zip. Not even a CAR. After decades of the Corps being deployed in war, there is no way they couldn’t have found a Marine that exemplifies Valor for that position.
Like I said, PC nonsense.
A Marine CANNOT be the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. Why is it PC? Why is it so difficult for you to believe that Chief Wright is not an just an E-9, but a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer who not only had to rise above “Potential” , but like every person who serves, kept his eyes on the prize and EARNED it?
CONGRATULATIONS CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT WRIGHT…You EARNED IT!!! Stay Gracious, Classy, and Upload our Core Values like you have been doing since I worked with you at Elmendorf. God Bless!!!!
“For lack of a nail, a shoe was lost, for lack of a shoe, a soldier was lost, for lack of a soldier, the battle was lost, for lack of the battle the war was lost…..” so it seems insignificant things DO MATTER! I didn’t fly the planes we sent into Vietnam, but I worked in the Engineering log room, I ran parts, kept logs, especially maint logs, oiling logs, parts logs etc etc etc, without which the ship would not have been there, without a ship the planes would not have been there, WE ALL DO OUR part, glory or not!!
A few things Dave. He had moved beyond the dental career field when he got the Bronze Star and was serving as Command Chief Master Sergeant, 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan. I seriously doubt he is the only senior enlisted member receiving a Bronze Star for meritorious service in Kabul. And to characterize me and my fellow dental techs as cowardly pussies is a bit much. I went into MEPS wanting to be a Cop or an Aerial Gunner…I found out I was color blind and left for basic in an open-general slot. I volunteered to deploy every chance I got and I was able to go into an AOR three times..NEVER as a dental tech. I went once as TCN escort of which I actually spent 3 months of my 8-month deployment as Cop augmentee. I deployed two more times on AFSOC stints training allied-nation soldiers in Combat-Life-Saving. I didn’t choose to be a dental tech because I was a cowardly pussy. The vast majority of dental techs that I know that deployed volunteered for their rotations and didn’t work as dental techs. Like me most of them were detailed out to some sort of secruity augmentee position. None of us are claiming to be war heroes, but we’re not all special snowflakes either. I don’t personally know Chief Wright, but I’ll bet like almost every other male dental tech I know, the Air Force put him in that field vs him choosing it. The fact that he was able to move beyond clinic staff type jobs and into Wing and Command leadership position are reflections on his abilities not PC quotas. I’m non-PC white guy, and I can tell you this guy is respected across the board and is not some token appointment. Also considering it is the Air Force, and the VAST majority of enlisted airmen never see combat, I don’t know that it has to be a litmus test to be qualified to serve as the CMSAF.
Thank you for your candor and your service (and no I am not placating you). The medical career field is not recognized enough for the things they do in keeping the rest of the force fit for duty. And I don’t even want to think of the nastiness you guys have to see and deal with.
Valor awards are things to behold and the men and women who get them have accomplished great feats. In the Air Force, unless you are a PJ, CCT, CCW, TACP, Security Forces, or assigned to a convoy, you will rarely get the opportunity to earn one of these awards. The closest most of us get is the gold border around our Expeditionary Medal (which CMSgt Wright clearly has). Our Valor comes with the “Warheads of Foreheads”, of which we have dump truck loads full.
I didn’t characterize you and your fellow dental techs as cowardly pussies…I said my brother was, which is true and not a characterization.
There are probably many Admin Clerks with bigger balls than mine, I have the same opinion of making any one of the the SgtMaj of the Marine Corps.
Having the opportunity to prove ones Valor is not always within our control. It is what it is. I have no idea if there are Air Force Dental Techs that given the right circumstance would rate the MOH. Probably are some, but the chances of us ever finding out are remote.
Administrative proficiency is admirable. Valor trumps it every time.
I think you need to give this senior SNCO a break…what I interpret your comments to is that service support personnel are not on par with all other personnel…the goofy badge??? This website does an outstanding job of exposing posers, and I have read many times where people say words to the effect of be proud of what you did…well, this Senior SNCO is setting a great example for all enlisted personnel, just like the SGTMAJ of the Marine Corps…also, the article states that he: Wright, who enlisted in 1989, spent the bulk of his career in the dental career field in assignments to South Korea, Kadena Air Base in Japan, and Germany, as well as serving as a professional military education instructor. He has also won nine assorted dental NCO and SNCO of the Year awards.
So, he is not an average SNCO…give him a chance Marine…btw, I am a retired 0369 and 3052…Al
Ok, you beat my 0151 with the 0369 but I beat that with my 0811. Since we were both 8151 at some point I will play my 8538 as the high card. If you went 9999 I still win because non-trainable SNCO’s get a 15 yard penalty by default. If you didn’t go that route I win by the ASVAB tie breaker unless you are HONDO using a sock puppet.
I have nothing against this guy, he appears to be a great leader and has had an exemplary career.
I am of the opinion that the USMC and the Chair Force could have selected individuals that exemplified some valor instead. Green is an outstanding REMF. We were all a REMF at one point or another, he just stayed one his whole career.
What does Chief Wright’s selection have to do with your opinion of the USMC? I retired from the USAF after 26 years, and deployed more with the USMC and have a lot of respect for them as they do for me…but I would never question their leadership’ selection…out of my lane. Sir, if you could kindly stay in your lane, and stop offending people because of your PERCEPTION of who should be what, when, where, and why. As Military members (present, past, to include families), let us HONOR our Service by Supporting our Leaders, whatever position they are Selected or Elected to fill.
CMSAF Cody was a no non-sense leader. He spoke on a level that everyone understood and always had time to respond to a question. (He also came from my career field, so I may be a little bias. :))
I can’t wait to see what CMSAF Wright has in store for our Airmen. Lots of positive comments from people who know him well.
Chief Gummers Mate, USAF
BWAHAHAHA!
Well done, Chief!
Dave Hardin,
CMSgt Wright is wearing the USAF Organizational Excellence Award ribbon. It appears similar to the BSM’s ribbon. He does not wear a Bronze Star in the photo.
V/R
J Wright
Ahhh, I stand corrected. Thank you for pointing that out.
J Wright,
You are correct that CMSgt Wright is not wearing a BSM in this picture, but he has been awarded a BSM, but not for Valor. He has also been awarded a Legion of Merit. Here is a link to the Biography from US Air Forces in Europe http://www.usafe.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/747850/chief-master-sgt-kaleth-o-wright/
V/r,
Compare SSGT Keaton Thiem’s bling compared to this dental tech.
Just sayin…
This coming from a one tour Army guy with four ribbons and auto-rifle on his chest when he came home.
I don’t know about now, but when I was on AD, the Air Force was EXTREMELY stingy with awards, especially in my career field.
That is somewhat true, but mostly for junior enlisted. We started doing more mid-term medals for our junior enlisted due to CMSAF Roy’s homesteading vision (6-8 years before PCS for critical skills career fields). That didn’t end up so well when the dam burst and a lot of Airmen left without meeting the requirements for higher PCS medals. Our career fields may be similar in their thinking.
Nowadays it seems like if an Airman Basic doesn’t have at least a six ribbon starter pack rack when graduating from Basic Training, they are considered slackers./sarc
But what would I know? I was Army and got out of basic 45 years ago.
I worked a lot with AF intel types and even the junior enlisted had more ribbons than a Mexican general.
Heh, some good snort worthy inter-MOS rivalry remarks here. But be careful,each MOS has a way of getting back. Call me a “pecker checker” and amazingly your shot record may go missing or it is time for your colonoscopy. So be careful bashing dental techs. Off hand I can think of five things a DT can do to get back at you, e.g. dilute the anesthetic with saline. The masochist in me says that sounds like fun.
I like how you think, there, Grimmy.
Not to be bragging, but I was one of the few who came back from overseas with a clean shot record. Damned proud of that, wot?
Is it SAFE?
Maybe he can do something about attitudes at Air Force dental clinics when a retiree needs X-rays or God forbid, actual space A dental work. Many of the enlist look at us like we are child molesters and the admin officers hide passing the buck to their NCO’s.
As a retired Chief of 30 years of service, I personally know “K” we spent time together in the SNCOA and he is a fine upstanding individuals. We will continue to do great things for the USAF.
Congratulations, Chief! Sounds like those who know you and those who know of you have confidence in your abilities, so I have no fear that you will lead well.