News>Feature - Senior NCO credits AF family for 'chief' stripe
Photos
Chief Master Sgt. Clarence Moore congratulates Senior Master Sgt. Micheal Robinson on his selection to chief Jan. 19. Sergeant Robinson, Operations Flight chief for the 50th Security Forces Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., joined the Air Force in March 1981. Chief Moore is the 50th Space Wing command chief. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration/Staff Sgt. Don Branum)
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Senior Master Sgt. Micheal Robinson, rear center, poses with members of his Air Force family, whom he credits with helping him become Schriever's next chief master sergeant. Sergeant Robinson is 50th Security Forces Squadron Operations Flight superintedent. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Don Branum)
by Staff Sgt. Don Branum
50th Space Wing Public Affairs
1/23/2007 - SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- As a basic trainee, he "marched with too much soul." As a junior Airman, he nearly found himself kicked out of the Air Force until a senior NCO turned his career around.
A lot of things have changed in the security forces career field since Senior Master Sgt. Micheal Robinson joined in March 1981. The name of the career field has changed, the job description has grown considerably, and Airmen have taken on more and more responsibility at increasingly junior ranks. Sergeant Robinson has watched Air Force security forces transform, and he has transformed with it--from an "undisciplined" trainee to Schriever's next chief master sergeant.
Sergeant Robinson, a native of New Orleans, first joined the Air Force in March 1981 when paying for college made his blood run thin.
"I couldn't afford to stay in college--I was donating blood to pay tuition, and I was running out of blood," the chief selectee said and laughed. "So I went down, took the test and signed up."
Signing up was easy. Basic training wasn't.
"It was tough for me because I was very undisciplined," he recalled. "I started off as a squad leader, but my military training instructor fired me because she said I had too much 'soul' in my march."
The MTI threatened on several occasions to wash then-Airman Robinson back into an earlier week of training; fortunately, that never happened. After basic training and an enjoyable time at technical school, a young Airman Robinson went to Sembach Air Base, Germany, for his first assignment.
Sembach AB was where Sergeant Robinson faced a turning point early in his career. He credits Master Sgt. Arnette Keese with turning his Air Force career around.
"Sergeant Keese was a supply NCO at my first base," Sergeant Robinson recalled. "At one point, he pulled me in and pinned me up against the wall and asked me, 'What is your problem, son? You have so much potential, and you're blowing it.'
"That was the first time I think in my life that I thought, 'Wow--somebody thinks I have potential?' From that point on, I turned around my career. I was young, but that's when I realized I actually have potential," he said. He last heard from Sergeant Keese in 1982, but he still thinks about the senior NCO periodically.
Sergeant Robinson served with several other units, including the 50th Security Police Squadron at Hahn AB, Germany. Sergeant Robinson said his best job was an assignment as NCO in charge of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe's personal security detail in SHAPE, Belgium. Now-retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark was one of Sergeant Robinson's bosses there.
During Sergeant Robinson's career, three Air Force specialties--combat arms training manager, law enforcement and security--merged into one. He's also seen more responsibility move into the hands of lower-ranking Airmen.
"Airmen are pulling response force leader positions, which are positions normally held for staff sergeants or technical sergeants," Sergeant Robinson said. "It's the same thing for security controllers and alarm monitors. We have one-stripers here pulling those positions--those are the heartbeat of what we do everyday. Back in my day, you were lucky if you got to do that by the time you were a staff sergeant. That is a lot of responsibility.
"I was a staff sergeant, and they only let me be a response force member at one point. Today, you have staff sergeants pulling flight chief, being responsible for the whole shift, which has traditionally been a master sergeant's job," Sergeant Robinson continued.
Airmen also face supervisory responsibilities at more junior ranks--staff sergeants and sometimes senior airmen just out of Airman Leadership School end up supervising as many as five or six lower-ranking Airmen, Sergeant Robinson said.
"If you graduate from ALS on Friday, in this squadron you'll get off Saturday and Sunday. When you get into work Monday, the changes of reporting official are already cut, and you're supervising three to five troops right away. Back then, you had several years under your belt before you were given the responsibility of supervising anybody, and then you only had one or maybe two troops."
Even though expectations are higher, Airmen are stepping up.
"I think in security forces, we have some of the hardest-working troops," he said. "They probably have experienced more challenges than most Airmen coming in the Air Force today--the high ops tempo, shortage in manning, long hours. But overall, our troops are dedicated; they're willing to do the job. Overall, they've definitely met the challenge."
Sergeant Robinson's goals as a chief are simple: be the best chief he can be, be a chief to all Airmen, and make a difference as chiefs who came before have made a difference in his career.
"I give a lot of credit to Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Dickens and Chiefs Moore--Chief Master Sgt. Clarence Moore and his wife, Chief Master Sgt. Mercedes Moore," he said. "Chief Moore and his wife--particularly his wife--really got on me about finishing one class (for my Community College of the Air Force degree), and what a difference it made."
He also credits the Airmen and NCOs with whom he works as being instrumental in his progression to chief.
"For many, many years, I've been in charge of something. I've been NCOIC of this, or I've been the flight chief of that. I had troops working for me, and I couldn't have done this without them. Those troops are the ones who did the work--and while I made sure they got recognized and got credit, I also got recognized and got credit for it. I made this stripe on the shoulders of ... giants."
Evident in the warm tone of Sergeant Robinson's voice is his compassion--his empathy--for the Airmen he works with. They're not just his squadron; they're family.
"I tell you, my troops--my troops--these troops made such a difference for me. All of them," he said. "I can never take credit for this, because all the awards I've won, all the great enlisted performance reports I've had--it's been the work that my troops have done. I can't overemphasize that."
That care comes across to his troops as well. Master Sgt. Amy Majercik, 50th SFS NCOIC of operations, has worked for Sergeant Robinson for about two years.
"He's awesome," Sergeant Majercik said. "He's a great person as a whole. If there were anything I ever needed, I know I could ask him, and he'd be there fore me. I know that's not just true for me, too--a lot of other people in the squadron feel that way as well.
"The job is really hectic, but he seems to be able to make it all make sense and get everyone going down the right path," she said.
Airmen who want to make chief should decide early and work hard toward making that rank, Sergeant Robinson said.
"Learn all that you can, work hard, and give your all," he said. "We talk about devotion to duty and dedication and loyalty. I think if you have all those things, it's inevitable that you're going to produce nothing but good results."
He summed up his most important advice with the Air Force core values.
"When I really think about it, I would encourage all Airmen coming into the Air Force--before they come in--that they've already got integrity, and service before self, putting others before them, and excellence--that they want nothing but the best out of all that they do," he said. "If you have those three things, you can have an extremely successful Air Force career. I really believe that ... I really do."
