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Shaking hands with Chief Sealey

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. David Salanitri
  • U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The difference between a person who commands and a person who leads is the difference between having a below average unit and a unit that sets the bar high for others to meet. Airmen of U.S. Air Forces Central are lucky -- they have a leader.

Chief Master Sgt. Robert Sealey, AFCENT command chief, is a man defined by his character. Each decision he makes, each word he speaks, comes with intentions to make life better for his Airmen and to make AFCENT successful in everything the organization does.

As Airmen, it's easy to look at the command chief position as just a chief with a star between his stripes. When they visit, your first thought is "guess I better get ready for the dog and pony show." But in the case of Chief Sealey, this is the last thing he wants.

"When I travel to Afghanistan, my goal is to get eyes on my Airmen," said Chief Sealey, who's worn the rank of chief master sergeant for more than seven years, and still has five left before he retires. "That's why I prefer meeting small groups of Airmen. When there are a hundred Airmen in the room, it's hard to look at each one and really gauge how they are doing. I need them to tell me what's wrong, how I can make things better for them and to just listen to them. I want to be where the rubber meets the road."

As Chief Sealey walks around base, he'll spot random clusters of Airmen and walk up to them. Whether they're at the smoke pit or grilling with some friends, the chief will approach anyone with the words "U.S. Air Force" written on their chest.

"Hi, I'm Chief Sealey. I'm the AFCENT command chief. So, when was the last time you talked to your family?" is his typical introduction and first question.

The way Chief Sealey talks about AFCENT Airmen is similar to the way dads talk about their kids. He's caring, he fights for them and he's proud.

Walking through the entry control point at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, Chief Sealey is briefed how only a couple weeks earlier this ECP was swarmed by nearly 2,500 Afghan citizens. Standing between the protesters and Bagram Airfield was a line of a few dozen Air Force security forces Airmen. Living up to their nickname, "Defenders," these Airmen guarded the airfield like 300-pound New York Giants linemen protecting quarterback Eli Manning on Super Bowl Sunday. I'm sure Chief Sealey, a native of Zanesville, Ohio, and die-hard Pittsburg Steelers fan, would much rather have read a "Big Ben" Roethlisberger (Steelers quarterback) reference.

These Defenders, who held the average rank of senior airman, protected folks at Bagram, but not without a price. There were detached retinas, cheeks with pellets embedded in them from high-powered pellet rifles and bruises from rocks thrown -- these Airmen stood the line no matter what.

With dozens of AK-47 rifles in the crowd, one bad decision could have had huge implications. Throughout the three-day protest, the self control displayed by these Airmen stuck with Chief Sealey throughout the remainder of his trip in Afghanistan.

"The Defenders at Bagram made tactical decisions, which had strategic implications," said Chief Sealey to several groups of Airmen, NCOs and Senior NCOs during visits to Airmen in Afghanistan, referring to the discipline demonstrated by the Airmen in not discharging their weapons prematurely, which would have caused huge ripples in diplomacy.

Spoken like a football coach to his team during halftime, "Let me tell you something," says Chief Sealey to a group of junior enlisted Airmen during a dinner at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. "The people back home ... they're like sheep. Bad men are like the wolf. It's been a long time since the sheep have seen the wolf, so they forget he's out there. But we're like the sheepdog. We've seen the wolf and we know the threat. We're here so the sheep don't have to see the wolf. Remember that."

Chief Sealey has been deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of operations for about six months. Of those six months, he has spent more than half of that time on the road visiting Airmen. And those travel days aren't easy days. At times, he may spend only one night at a base before catching a C-130 Hercules to another base in Afghanistan. The effects traveling in the CENTCOM AO has on the body is similar to traveling by plane in the States multiplied by five -- it wears you down.

Here's one of the biggest differences between a command chief and most Airmen -- if Chief Sealey is worn down, tired or simply having a bad day, he can't show it to anyone. He always has to wear his "Superman face." But here's a secret ... command chiefs are human. They get tired. They need time to Skype with their family back home, just like you and me. But throw a couple of command chiefs together in one room and you'll have instant comedy. Watching Chief Sealey, Chief Master Sgt. Al Herring, 9th Air Expeditionary Task Force - Afghanistan command chief, and Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Vallely, 451st Air Expeditionary Wing command chief, sit down and interact together has the resemblance of sitting on a bench during a Little League game, talking about the things boys talk about. For those moments when it's just the boys/command chiefs together, it looks like all three could let their guard down for a second, and just be real.

Chief Master Sgt. Robert Sealey is a man--a great man, but he's still just a man. Growing up, my mom used to preach a phrase to me, "Evil prevails when good men do nothing." Chief Sealey is a good man, and he's doing something. Each day, he fights for his Airmen, their families and for every U.S. citizen. Next time Chief Sealey comes to your work space, talk to him. Ask him questions. Value his visit.

A long time ago, I heard someone say, "Leaders, value your troops. Troops, value your leaders." Chief Sealey is a leader we need to value ... and maybe even thank. Thank him for traveling hundreds ... sometimes thousands of miles just to shake your hand and make sure you're doing all right; thank him for fighting for you every chance he gets; thank him for not accepting the minimum of you, but the very best of you; but most of all, thank him for leading you instead of just commanding.