In the early s, the Air Force made a top-down effort to improve the first sergeant selection, training, and image. A headquarters workshop recommended formal training courses and in , the Air Force Extension Course Institute developed a first sergeant career development course.
The first shirt is a top-notch senior NCO. In , the Air Force again changed course, turning the first sergeant job once more into a separate special duty assignment. The reason for making the job a special duty was largely a matter of perception, said Miller. Another factor in the decision to make the job a special duty was the hard fact that it had lost its appeal to many airmen. The Air Force was seriously short of first sergeant applicants. The changes made the post more attractive to senior NCOs and improved recruiting.
Since , new first shirts require training not only at the Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy but also at the First Sergeant Academy. There is little duplication in their curricula. At the FSA, security forces procedures, human resources intervention, and counseling skills are all covered in more depth than at the Senior NCO Academy.
Among enlisted troops, there is support for returning the first sergeant job to a career Air Force Specialty Code. The fact that so many command chiefs and Chief Master Sergeants of the Air Force have served as first sergeants seems to bolster the argument for returning it to career status. On the other hand, some first sergeants like the idea of making the status a rank, as in the Army.
Past confusion over whether the first sergeant or the ranking NCO on a base was in charge of enlisted members lends some support to this thinking. The first and most colorful version has it that federal troops in the early frontier days wore their shirts into tatters and eagerly awaited the supply wagon bringing new uniforms. When it came, the first sergeant, being the ranking enlisted man, got the first pick of the shirts.
The second theory is that the first sergeant, being the most senior and usually the most experienced of soldiers, often collected more decorations and insignia than anyone else. His shirt thus was the gaudiest—the first—in the outfit.
The third explanation is that when the Army troops removed their shirts to work in hot weather, the first sergeant continued to wear his because he was boss of the work crew and did not do manual labor.
Skip to content. By Bruce D. USAF photo First sergeants are selected through a combination of application and nomination. Twists and Turns In the late s, the responsibilities of the first sergeant were reduced. USAF photo In , the Air Force again changed course, turning the first sergeant job once more into a separate special duty assignment. However, there are three main theories. The unit members get a lot of satisfaction out of deploying and supporting combatant commanders around the world but being away from home for extended periods of time is never easy on the members, especially the families.
The first sergeant maintains close contact with the spouses, which gives the deployed members peace of mind that someone back home is looking after their loved ones. The job of a first sergeant is not always about caring for troops, there are times when they have to ensure good discipline is in order.
We are blessed to have good troops in our squadron but there have been some minor disciplinary actions that I have had to administer since taking command. The first sergeant has always been there to provide advice and counsel to me and then to the member after the disciplinary action is administered. Our shirt upholds standards and is a professional that enforces standards for not only the enlisted members but the officer corps as well.
Read This Next. Sponsored Ad. Join nearly 2 million former and current members of the US military, just like you. Log In Sign Up. Sign Up with Facebook. Sign Up with Google. Sign Up with Email. Already have an account? Log In with Facebook. Log In with Google. Please enter an email address. Welcome to RallyPoint! The Air Force first sergeant is a not a rank, but a special duty held by a senior enlisted advisor of a military unit who reports directly to the commander and this special duty can be held by master sergeants, senior master sergeants or chief master sergeants.
In Bruce D. Callander's article, entitled "First Shirts" prior to the U. When the U. Air Force became an independent branch in , it broke with tradition and the first sergeant rank became a duty specialty.
It was not until that General Nathan F. Twining, Air Force Chief of Staff, approved the use of the diamond in the V above the grade insignia as the first sergeant device and introduced the E-8 and E-9 grades to this prestigious position.
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