Four selected for Chief stripes Published Nov. 13, 2006 By Master Sgt. Stuart Camp 16th SOW Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Four senior master sergeants assigned to the 16th Special Operations Wing received welcome news Nov. 7 - selection for promotion to the highest enlisted rank in the Air Force. The selectees are: Senior Master Sgts. Thomas Bowen, 16th Maintenance Group, Doug Massingill, 16th Operations Group, and Lynn Lawrence and Debra Strickland, 16th Medical Group. Col. Norman Brozenick, 16th SOW commander, and a large group of chief master sergeants assigned to the wing loaded into a bus and surprised the four Airmen with the news. Sergeant Bowen was sitting in the back of a classroom when the wing commander interrupted. Sergeant Massingill was called out of the crowd during an impromptu commander's call. Sergeant Strickland was working on a project with the 16th Medical Group commander when Colonel Brozenick made the notification, which drew coworkers into the cramped hallway when news spread around the building. While the group of chief master sergeants and coworkers hugged and shook hands with Sergeant Strickland, the wing commander doubled the celebration presented stripes to Sergeant Lawrence. Each was presented a hat denoting their new rank and a bottle of champagne. Colonel Brozenick and Chief Master Sgt. James Kradel, 16th Operations Group enlisted manager, presented the Airmen their stripes - then firmly secured the stripes to their arms. In total, the Air Force selected 417 people for promotion to chief master sergeant. The Air Force will publicly release the promotion list Nov. 8, and the complete list of selectees will be available by 5 p.m. CST on the Air Force Personnel Center's homepage. A total of 2,475 senior master sergeants were considered for a 16.85 percent selection rate. Last year's selection rate was 22.83 percent.