Meet the new command chief: Former BMT superintendent trades in felt hat for star on sleeve Published April 13, 2007 By Airman 1st Class Emerald Ralston 341st Space Wing Public Affairs MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- Chief Master Sgt. Steve Sargent, Malmstrom's new command chief, is quickly making the transition from Basic Military Training superintendent at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to the Space and Missile mission here at Malmstrom. "This is a great assignment," Chief Sargent said. "It has a great mission with great people at a great location. We're very happy." Chief Sargent and his wife, Donna, are getting used to the colder climate, as this is the farthest north they've ever been stationed. "This is a huge contrast from coming from life in the south. We've never been this far north," the Tampa native said. "For the last 11 years all my assignments have been in the Deep South so this is a nice, refreshing change." Chief Sargent's father was a sergeant major in the Army, so while he moved around as a child, he said he claims Tampa as home because that's where he graduated high school and joined the military. Since then, Chief Sargent has had plenty of assignments and gained invaluable experience traveling throughout the Air Force. "This is my 13th assignment and all of them have been great," Chief Sargent said. "I've been blessed with a very interesting and diverse career. I'm a supply guy by trade. My last official duties in supply were working the modernization effort. I left that behind to be a commandant of the Kirtland NCO Academy, and superintendent for BMT. In all the roles and all the jobs I've had, I've been blessed." "Every assignment developed me as a professional Airman and warrior," the Chief said. "I've learned from and developed a little bit from each one and there are no assignments I'd have done without. Even my remote tour in Iceland was a valuable experience. It was an interesting opportunity as I got to learn a different culture and worked for a great boss who allowed me to grow as a noncommissioned officer." Out of all the bases and jobs Chief Sargent has held through his career, he has accumulated a wealth of memorable moments and interesting stories. "My most memorable Air Force moment was probably the day I made Chief," he said. "It was a life changing event. I would have to say that's the pinnacle of my career so far - making it to the top of the enlisted corps. It's a lifelong dream come true." His second tour at Lackland after serving as a Military Training Instructor from 1981 to 1984 brought another memorable accomplishment. "Another interesting moment was when I made Master Military Training Instructor, or blue rope, at Lackland," Chief Sargent said. "When I first got there, because of my duty title and my status in the BMT world, they gave me an honorary rope, as a status symbol." Not content with the symbolism of the rope not being backed up by experience, Chief Sargent made it his mission to earn the blue rope on his own. "I wore a blue rope but I had not earned it, and that bothered me," Chief Sargent said. "I entered myself in competition to legitimize the rope. What made it interesting was I fell back on skills I knew from my previous time as a TI from 1981 to 1984 so it had been almost 20 years since I'd been a street TI. Obviously, the way TIs operate today is much different than when I taught in the 80s. So I fell back to what I knew and I brought back the old school and it just amazed these people how structured the format was back in the day in contrast to today." "But," the chief added with a smile, "obviously my style worked because I made Master MTI. So that was an interesting day." With that achievement under his belt, Chief Sargent said he enjoyed his time at Lackland as BMT supervisor. "It was interesting being at Lackland again," Chief Sargent said. "In my job as BMT supervisor, I was charged with bringing changes to the basic training program. My whole focus was in developing the Warrior Airman and that was an interesting challenge. For almost three years, we've been focusing on making changes to meet the needs of today's Airman. It was a great challenge and I loved every minute of it." While not at work though, Chief Sargent has a few hobbies to keep him busy. One of his favorite past-times is making miniature models and he can spend hours upon hours making dioramas, then constructing and detailing his models. "My affinity for miniature models probably has something to do with my attention-to-detail personality," he said. Music is among the Chief's favorite things as well. He excelled in music at Leto Comprehensive High School in Tampa and was selected for the 1978 all-state choir. Chief Sargent also said he plans to take advantage of some of the things Montana has to offer and wants to learn how to fly-fish. "You can't come to Montana and not fish, so I'm looking for someone to teach me how to fly-fish," he said. "I don't have the patience to sit in a tree and wait for something to hunt or drop my line in the water and wait for something to bite. If I can chase it, it's a different story. That's why I think I'd enjoy fly-fishing, because it involves a certain level of strategy and movement." As far as movies go, Chief Sargent's favorite military movie is "Full Metal Jacket." "I like the story line and the boot camp piece, of course." Fun and games aside, Chief Sargent has a mission and is fully prepared to serve as Malmstrom's new command chief. "Based on my history," the former BMT instructor said, "I'm all about developing Airman. I encourage every person out there from airman basic to chief master sergeant to get involved in some professional organization to give back to our Air Force and our community. So whether it's an advisory council or professional dues-paying organization, I highly encourage everyone to get involved because that's how we make our community better." "Another message I want to convey is change," he said. "Do not be afraid of change. I have a plaque on my wall that says 'Change is a four letter word,' and it's spelled 'GOOD.' I'm all about change. If someone has a better idea or a recommendation to change something, regardless of what it is, something simple or complex, my door is always open to new ideas. That's how we make things better, through involvement and not having a fear of change." "And have fun," Chief Sargent said. "The mission, of course, is priority, especially in our line of work. But it's also important to enjoy life and never forget your family. Donna and I look forward to interacting socially with all ranks of Airmen."