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Chief's final oath on anniversary

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rachelle Elsea
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Several thousand feet in the air, aboard a C-130, Chief Master Sgt. Mitchell Balutski, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing command chief, took his seventh and final reenlistment oath Oct. 30, the same day as his 20th wedding anniversary.

The two-year, seven month enlistment will bring him to a grand total of 30 years service in the United States Air Force.

Chief Balutski grew up in Kaneohe, Hawaii, where his family has been since long before Hawaii was even a state. But, Chief is not the first to serve in the Armed Forces.

"Both of my grandfathers were Airmen," said Chief Balutski. "My father's father was aircrew and died in WWII and my mother's father was a Major in the United States Air Force and he worked on General McArthur's staff. So, we have a long history of Airmanship in the family."

Chief grew up playing sports, primarily football, for which, still to this day he has a passion.

He worked construction for a few years after graduating from high school, but knew he had a greater calling.

"I joined the Air Force to do something with my life," said Chief Balutski. "I didn't really feel like I was making a difference or doing anything important, so I decided I needed to go and see the world and do something bigger than what I was doing."

Chief is a communications troop by trade.

"I came in as a 511 which was a mainframes system operator," said Chief. "We came in working on big gigantic mainframes back in the 80s; computers that would take up whole rooms of a building. Then, I transitioned through the communications career field to network systems and network engineering, which is where I was prior to becoming a chief."

In the beginning, Chief wasn't always on the road to success.

"Earlier on in my career I wasn't working up to my full potential or doing the things that would have kept me in," said Chief. "But, after getting course corrections and some vector checks from senior leaders, I knew this was going to be something I wanted to do for as long as they would allow me to do it."

It was also early in his career when he met his wife.

"My wife, Donna, and I met over 20 years ago, prior to me leaving for Desert Storm," said Chief. "We sparked up a great relationship as friends. We met through church and became friends first and then romantically involved."

After returning home, the Chief and Donna made a vow of unity.

"Upon getting married, I instantly became a Dad," said Chief. "Donna had a daughter, Tiffany; she was four years old when we got married. She became my little girl. Then Donna and I started having children in '93 with Kenui Jr. our oldest, who is off in college right now."

Then, there was Michael Kalai who is a high school senior this year and finally, Marty Kekoa our youngest who is 15, he added. So I have three boys, a girl, a lovely wife and I am just a blessed person, father and husband all the way around.

Chief chose his wedding anniversary for his is final reenlistment to show tribute to his wife and her dedication to him and his family and also the Air Force.

"She was active duty for 9 years and then served a couple of years in the guard, equaling 12 years of military service before becoming a full-time mom and staying home with our children," said Chief. "She has to sacrifice as well because whenever I leave, she has to pick up everything. I have been in jobs in the course of the last ten years that take me away from home frequently and for long periods of time; she has been the at-home commander that takes care of everything that needs to be done."

She never complains, he added.

Chief, who came here from Vance Air Force Base, Okla., will be away from his family for a year. But, he still keeps his head up and eye on the mission.

"I tell folks this because I think it matters," said Chief. "Even from day one, I understood that this wasn't just a job, it was a calling and it takes an individual with a mind set of service. That is why we have our core values and that is why service before self is in there."

After a while it becomes part of your character, part of your persona, when you are wearing the uniform, he said.

"The name on the right side of my uniform is far diminished because the tape on my left side is what really matters," said Chief. "For those of you out here taking care of business, as we draw down the troops from up north, understand that we are making history. Every day is a page in the history books and I thank everyone for their service."