LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Since taking over as the command chief of the 1st Fighter Wing two months ago, Chief Master Sgt. Gary Carter has been getting to know the intricacies of the mission, as well as the men and women who work there.
Carter grew up in St. Louis, Mo., and entered the Air Force in 1987. He said the decision to join the military was primarily influenced by his family.
"My grandmother, my mother and my step-father encouraged me to join the military and provide a service to my country," said Carter. "I had two uncles in the Air Force and my step dad was in the Army. So it was kind of a democratic vote that I join the Air Force."
Following the rigors of basic training and technical school, Carter said he learned what it means to be an Airman from some seasoned veterans who took him under their wing.
"I originally came in as a bomb navigation systems technician. So I worked on B-52s for three and a half years. I would have to say that as I've grown up, the foundation I learned on the flightline was very solid. I had a lot of good mentors on the flightline who helped me get to where I am today," said Carter.
In 1991, he retrained into the weather career field. As a weather technician, he has served in a myriad of positions and locations. His assignments include bases and posts in Colorado, Louisiana, Illinois, Florida, Mississippi, Washington, Virginia, Nebraska and North Carolina. Carter has also served overseas in the Republic of Korea and Germany, and has deployed on three occasions to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has also supported Operations Enduring Freedom and Allied Force.
Carter said a lot of the things that happened to him at a very early age have manifested themselves into who he is today.
"If you take the Air Force core values, and look at what happens on the flightline - you've got Airmen out there working 14 hours a day to launch jets," said Carter, reminiscing about his time on the line. "You have quality assurance people out there who are responsible for making sure you follow the technical orders. Those efforts are the cornerstones of the core values."
Prior to assuming his current position, Carter served as the superintendent for the 1st Weather Group at Offutt AFB, Neb. He said he is thankful for everything the Air Force has done for him throughout his career.
"If I think about what the Air Force has done for me, I would have to say it has given me everything. It has given me a career, a bachelor's degree, a master's degree and two Community College of the Air Force degrees; it allowed me to meet my wife of 22 years; and it has allowed me to see things the average American rarely gets a chance to see," said Carter.
Chief Carter is responsible to the 1st FW commander for the effective employment, professional development, good order and discipline of roughly 1,400 enlisted personnel who operate and maintain the F-22 Raptor. To accomplish their mission, the men and women of the 1st FW work in one of two groups: the Operations Group or the Maintenance Group. Eight squadrons comprise the two groups, which includes two fighter squadrons: the 27th FS, known as the Fightin' Eagles, and the 94th FS, known as the Hat-in-the-Ring Gang.
Carter said his influence runs through the leadership of those groups and squadrons assigned to the 1st FW.
"I'm in a unique position to provide guidance, because there are squadron commanders, group commanders, squadron chiefs and group chiefs who are doing the heavy lifting," said Carter. "I have to be really patient and persistent with the commander's intentions. At the end of the day, I've got to thank the professionals that are out there for making it happen."
The 1st FW has had its share of triumphs and tribulations. On Dec. 15, 2005, the 27th FS became the Air Force's first operational F-22 fighter squadron. The wing's compliment of 42 F-22s reached full operational capability Dec. 12, 2007. In May 2011 the Air Force's entire fleet of F-22s was placed on a strategic pause over concerns about the planes' oxygen-generating system. However, the commander of Air Combat Command lifted the F-22 stand down Sept. 9, 2011, enabling wing commanders to implement their reconstitution plans and return their crews to flying as soon as possible.
On Oct. 1, a KC-10 Extender brought back 24 maintainers who were temporarily deployed to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, taking care of jets that were grounded due to the strategic pause. Now that all the personnel and jets are all back at Langley AFB, Carter said the wing is taking a methodical and systematic approach to returning to fully operational status.
"First and foremost we have to get ourselves ready to fly combat sorties, and to do the mission the nation asks us to do," said Carter. "The way we do that is to continue to develop our Airmen to operate with speed and agility, while at the same time having a disciplined approach."
Critical thinking and discipline is part of what put Carter in the leadership role he is in now. He said there is no single road map to serving in the top one percent of the enlisted force, but the best place to start is by mastering whatever career field you are in.
"In order to be a chief master sergeant, you have to be a professional Airman within your function; from an Airmanship perspective as well as a functional perspective. You have to master the specific skill set for your job, be well disciplined and aware of what the Air Force is trying to do as an enterprise, and you have to be able to articulate that up and down the chain of command," he said.
Carter named several people who've had positive impacts on his life and career, but the most influential mentor he's known is retired Chief Master Sgt. Jeffrey Fries.
"He's probably had the most influence on my professional career. He gave me multiple opportunities to be the man I am today," he said.
Carter focuses what little free time he does have into quality time with his wife, who recently retired from a career in the Air Force, and his three-year-old son. Since he took over as command chief, his love of golf has taken a back seat to the mission, but he doesn't seem to mind.
"Serving as the command chief for the 1st Fighter Wing is an honor and a privilege; just like serving the country in the greatest Air Force the world has ever known."