Couple reaches milestone together

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Angela Shepherd
  • 1st SOW Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  Retirement day is a day Airmen look forward to for 20 or more years. It is a day that marks the end of an era in their life, one that is happy and sad all at the same time.

But for two Hurlburt Field officers, that day was even more special because they got to celebrate it with each other.

On March 30, Lt. Cols. Chris and Pam Kaufman, a married couple who have collectively given the Air Force more than 40 years of service, fittingly ended careers of dual sacrifices and joyful experiences with a dual retirement ceremony.

"What a great ceremony this is," said Lt. Gen. Mike Wooley, Air Force Special Operations Command commander, who served as the ceremony's presiding official. "We do retirements all the time, but it's not too often we get to celebrate two outstanding careers at the same time."

The ceremony proceeded fairly usually, with the presentation of the retirement orders and certificates, first for Colonel Chris Kaufman and then for Colonel Pam Kaufman.

It wasn't really until the presentation of the spouse appreciation certificates that the ceremony saw a light-hearted crossover.

"How strange is this?" asked Maj. Gen. Donald Wurster, AFSOC vice commander and co-presiding official. "I'm not used to presenting these to someone in uniform who was just retired."

After both colonels were officially retired, they each had a chance to say their thanks and goodbyes, but taking center stage was the message they had for each other.

"Thank you for being my biggest cheerleader," Colonel Pam Kaufman said to her husband. "It's been my privilege to share this day with you as it has been to spend our lives together."

Colonel Chris Kaufman then explained how the pair decided all those years ago to handle their Air Force careers together.

"When I asked her to marry me, I told her that we should stand side by side for the rest of our lives and face everything together, and that's exactly what we've done."