NCO induction ceremony gets FOCUSed

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Angela Shepherd
  • 16th SOW Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  Every Airman's career is dotted with milestones and special events. Within the en-listed corps, however, there are few achievements as significant and memorable as the day that fourth stripe is tacked on - the day an Airman becomes a noncommissioned officer.

Over the last few months, a group of NCOs from Hurlburt has put its focus on making sure Hurlburt Airmen have an even more exciting transition into the NCO tier.

"We needed to make changes to Hurlburt's NCO induction ceremony so we not only recognized their induction into the NCO corps, but celebrated their promotion to staff sergeant as well," said Chief Master Sgt. Todd Small, 16th Special Operations Wing command chief master sergeant.

So, FOCUS 56, the base's professional organization for staff and technical sergeants, got to work on revamping the ceremony so the promotees' families and units were fully incorporated.

"Being promoted to staff sergeant only happens once in an Airman's career," said Tech. Sgt. Matthew Kaczor, a member of FOCUS 56 and the original project manager for the improvements. "We felt it was very important for these individuals to share this moment with the people who helped them get to this point - their families, coworkers and supervisors."

Once the ceremony details were hashed out by the group, the changes were implemented in June. One big change that makes the ceremony much more personalized is allowing family members to come on stage and tack on the promotee's stripes. The day the ceremony is held was also changed.

"Previously, the ceremony was held on the first duty day of the month - when promotees were already staff sergeants," Chief Small said. "We moved it to the last duty day of the month before their promotion so it could be a true pin-on celebration as well."

Along the way, FOCUS 56 received help from several base agencies, including the 16th Communications Squadron's sound and photo shops, the chaplain's office and especially Hurlburt's First Sergeant's Council.

"All of this cooperation has really helped the quality of the ceremony," Sergeant Kaczor said. "Attendance and family member participation has increased, and the ceremony just flows better now."

"We absolutely want every one of our new staff sergeants to attend this ceremony," Chief Small said. "It gives Hurlburt's leadership an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the achievements of the next generation of Air Force and Air Commando leaders."
Those selected for promotion to staff sergeant should contact their supervisor or first sergeant to arrange participation. The next NCO induction ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday inside the base theater.