LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Virginia –
The things a person can find in Chief Master Sgt. Dennis Krebs’ office say a lot about the 1st Maintenance Group superintendent’s Air Force career.
A picture of him in his Desert Camouflage Uniform, firing an M-9, sits on one side of the room, sharing a wall with a blood chit. He has challenge coins from the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force, the Air Force Chief of Staff and the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, and that’s just on the first of 10 rows. To boil it down, the Chief has seen and done a lot in 28 years in the Air Force.
Thursday, the 1st MXG helped celebrate his latest accomplishment when he was awarded a bronze star for his accomplishments in Iraq.
“My primary job was to make sure our people had the training they needed to get the job done,” he said. “I attribute the medal to the dedication of our combat Airmen.”
Chief Krebs served one year at Balad Air Base, Iraq, as the Air Force command chief master sergeant for the Iraq theater. This made him the top enlisted person for more than 6,500 Airmen across 14 forward operating locations and several Army units where Airmen were playing key roles. He made several visits to these Airmen, crisscrossing Iraq in Blackhawks and Sherpas to make sure they all had the training and equipment they needed. But it’s not the job he thinks about, it’s the Airmen.
“It humbles me to know that one of the legacies I left behind as their chief was to make sure our Airmen have the training they need to survive,” he said.
Chief Krebs said he has seen that training used to do nearly the impossible. His tenth day in-country, a rocket landed four-and-a-half feet from an Airman at Balad, taking off his legs and one of his arms. Air Force training saved the Airman’s life.
“A lot of outstanding people did self aid and buddy care and saved his life,” the Chief said. “The buddy care training we receive is valuable; you build on basic life-saving techniques. It saved his life. Today he’s married and his family gets to enjoy his presence.”
Chief Krebs said another thing that struck him was the heroism of Airmen in the field. During a memorial service in Mosul, he met Senior Airman Jacob Sutton a convoy gunner. Airman Sutton’s convoy was hit by three daisy-chained IEDs. The gunner leapt from the back of the truck and pulled his vehicle commander to safety. He then went back to toss the truck’s weapon and ammunition from the burning vehicle to prevent the fire from setting them off.
“That day, I shook hands with a hero,” Chief Krebs said. “It reblued me as an Airman and showed me how important our jobs and people are there. They were doing nontraditional jobs and they far exceeded the standards and always accomplished the mission,” he said.
Chief Krebs said serving at Balad was the highlight of his career, and a lot of Airmen in Iraq feel the same way about their time there.
“Most of them feel a sense of pride, which they should,” he said. “And feel a sense of accomplishment. It’s worth it what we’re doing over there.”
He said he felt his accomplishments exist only because of the accomplishments of others.
“Although presented to me, I feel this award was earned by our combat Airmen and the sacrifices they’re making,” he said.
For those Airmen going to Iraq or Afghanistan, Chief Krebs had a message. “Take advantage of all your training opportunities,” he said. “The Air Force is going to train you to do the very best, and then it’s up to you to utilize and build on that training. This is a serious business. Thank you for your service. We’re here to defend our nation and to do that we need to strengthen our Airmen.”