The Chief

As many of you know, my son Geoff is a Chief Master Seargent in the United States Air Force and is in Iraq for the third time. He sent me this description of a Chief this morning.

There is a hint of discrimination and blasphemy in this, but I'm not allowed to apologize! THE CHIEF: The CHIEF doesn't sleep with a night light. The CHIEF isn't afraid of the dark. The dark is afraid of the CHIEF. The CHIEF's tears can cure cancer. Too bad he's never cried. The CHIEF once visited The Virgin Islands. They are now called The Islands. The CHIEF once counted to infinity . . . twice! The CHIEF frequently donates blood to the Red Cross, just never his own. Superman owns a pair of CHIEF pajamas. The CHIEF has never paid taxes. He just sends in a blank form and includes a picture of himself. If the CHIEF is late, then time had damn well better slow down. The CHIEF has the greatest Poker Face ever. He once won the 1982 World Series of Poker despite the fact that he held only a Joker, a 2 of clubs, a 7 of spades, a Monopoly Get-Out-Of-Jail card, and a green number 4 UNO card. The CHIEF once sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his rugged good looks and unparalleled strength. He then beat up the devil and took back his soul. The devil who appreciates irony, couldn't stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month. When the CHIEF was in middle school, his English teacher assigned an essay: "What is courage?" The CHIEF received an A+ for turning in a blank page with only his name at the top. The CHIEF actually died four years ago, but the Grim Reaper can't get up the courage to tell him. The CHIEF once ate three 72-oz steaks in one hour. He spent the first 45 minutes having sex with the waitress. The CHIEF clogs the toilet even when he pisses. The CHIEF refers to himself in the fourth person. The CHIEF can divide by zero. If the CHIEF ever calls your house, be in! The CHIEF doesn't leave messages; he leaves warnings. The CHIEF is one-eighth Cherokee. This has nothing to do with his ancestry. The man once ate an Indian. If you come home and find the CHIEF in bed with your wife, it would be a good idea to fetch a glass of water in case the CHIEF gets thirsty. There is no future in any other course of action. The CHIEF can slam a revolving door. The CHIEF was sending an email one day, when he realized that it would be faster to run. One time in an airport a guy accidentally called the CHIEF "buddy." He explained it was an honest mistake and apologized profusely. The CHIEF accepted his apology and politely shook hands. Nine months later the guy's wife gave birth to a baby with a birthmark that looked like a star with wings. The guy knew exactly what had happened, and blames nobody but himself. When the Incredible Hulk gets angry, he transforms into the CHIEF. Jesus' Birthday isn't December 25th, But the CHIEF once sent him a birthday card for that day and Jesus was too scared to tell him the truth. That's why we celebrate Christmas in December. When the CHIEF exercises, the machine gets stronger. The CHIEF once played Jenga. The result was the Empire State Building. Bullets dodge the CHIEF. The CHIEF once took an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made him blink . . . once. The first lunar eclipse took place after the CHIEF challenged the sun to a staring contest. The sun blinked first. The CHIEF never used a question mark in his entire life. He believes that the interrogative tense is a sign of weakness.

Hail to the Chief!


In the movie Jaws, Quint called the Chief...."Chiefy"

Tell him congratulations on achieving that rank JDW. The hubby just told me the Air Force limits the Chief Pay Grade ( E9 ) to only 2% of the total force :)

They say "The nut doesn't fall far from the tree".

You gotta be proud of him.

JDW, only one thing come even close to a Chief and that is

and that is......

Thanks to you and your son John! We appreciaate all he does, and you for making him!

Here here.....thanks for sharing.

Looks like he's wearing the aircraft maintenance badge above his ribbon rack. What types of aircraft are in his maintenance background? (I was a C-5 mechanic, or "hog farmer" with over 3000 flying hours, and retired as a MSGT). We appreciate his service to our country.

Russ Wrote:

He was in C-130s Special Ops, for 10 years, C-141s about a year, and has been in F16s since then. He headed up the Viper West single plane demo team out of Hill AFB, UT for a year which is a normal tour for that job. He's seriously thinking about going with the Thunderbirds when he gets back from Iraq. He's at Balad for the second time on his third tour to the desert. If you want to see the Balad base get on Google Earth and enter Balad Southeast. It's an old picture, but that's what it looks like.

Mike- I spent 23 years at Dover...my entire career! But, as a flying crew chief, I was able to travel go everywhere (including Travis, McChord and about 50-60 countries overseas); whereever the airplanes went and fix them when they were unflyable. If I had a major problem in a location without maintenance support (like an engine change at one the more remote locations in Saudi Arabia), I requested assistance; a team with parts and support equipment would be flown in. You did whatever was neccessary to move the mission. I really enjoyed this, had a great career, and really miss it...shoulda stayed in and make Chief!

John- I was able to work C130s and C141s a little bit when I served on long TDYs at Sigonella (Italy), Rota (Spain) and Dhahran, Riyahd and other locations (Saudi Arabia) in the early 1990s... I loved it...I know that Special Ops is in a league of its own...these folks do some umm..interesting stuff. The Thunderbirds would be great duty, what an opportunity! He's done more than his fair share of duty in Iraq (so have lots of other people) .... but it sounds like he's having a great career, I wish him the best of luck.

You have a handsome son and source of pride in many ways. And, he's the spittin' image of his old man! Only,... where's his cigar?? ;)

Russ, I'll probably never know what he wasreally doing in Panama. I know his C-130 got shot down over Peru two weeks after he went to Okanawa. They hit the ground pretty hard and two guys died as a result. They managed to get the plane back into the air, hobbled back to Howard, patched it some more, and it went straight to the bone yard in Tuscon. All he had to say was, " I guess they got tired of us screwing around doing what we were doing." There was no mention of the incident in any news media.

Chip off the ole block for sure!