People matter most to retired chief

  • Published
  • By Ken Wright
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Every great journey begins with a single step, but when Chief Master Sgt. Mike Yoakum, former 60th Mission Support Group superintendent, entered the Air Force, his first stride was anything but auspicious.

In his first six months in the Air Force, he failed the test required for basic training graduation, failed to qualify as an expert marksman with the M-16 rifle, threatening his plans to be a security policeman and failed his first quality control assessment.

"I got a 100 percent on verbal and practical scenario tests, but I failed the written test," Yoakum said. "I always hated written tests because my reading level was so low at the time, but the Air Force took care of me by providing remedial training."

The slick-sleeved Airman had reason to question his decision to enlist, yet it wasn't in his nature to quit.

He didn't know what was next, but he was certain of one thing: You can stumble and even fall, but what matters is getting back up.

Airmen watch and learn, for better or worse and Yoakum was lucky to learn from some of the best. His first supervisor was a senior airman who was highly engaged with him and helped him through his five-level upgrade training by setting up a good study plan.

"All the NCOs were highly engaged with the mission and their Airmen," he said. "I had a lot of respect for them.

We were young and had our share of fun, but we also took our job very seriously. We were very good at it and we took care of each other."

Amazingly, by the time he settled into his next assignment at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, the airman 1st class earned three Air Force Achievement Medals for his work at Nellis Air Force, Nevada, excelling at Peacekeeper Challenge, a competition borne out of the need to refine security police combat, marksmanship, tactical and professional skills, and for helping an injured Airman on his first day at Kunsan.

Soon, Yoakum realized his accomplishments were possible because of the NCOs and Airmen who mentored and looked after him during his first two assignments and he wanted to pay it forward.

"I've always been on the team," he said, "and it's always been about the team. It's not about me individually."

At Beale Air Force Base, California, Yoakum arrived as a senior airman and left with a line number for master sergeant. During nine years, there he worked flight duties, deployed multiple times and developed into a hard-charging NCO. It was also at that time he married his high school sweetheart, Cathy, who has been at his side ever since.

As a young buck sergeant, he first experienced war in the summer of 1990, when he deployed to support Operation Desert Shield.

"I ended up returning just before Christmas because Cathy's pregnancy was complicated," Yoakum said. "I didn't want to leave the war, but it was the right thing to do for my family. On the last day of the ground war, Cathy gave birth to our daughter, Shelby."

Yoakum remembers his subordinates, peers and leaders at Beale as a competitive group that thrived on doing its best. It inspired him and he inspired others. Years later, he was told by another chief master sergeant that as a technical sergeant he, "cast a wide net and helped propel him to greater heights."

"It's my nature to put others before myself," Yoakum said. "Of course, I get something from that, personal gratification and enjoyment, even recognition, but for me it was for the team. Whether it was organizing a dining out or Christmas party, it made people feel good and like they were part of the team. I like events and bringing people together. We worked hard and we played hard."

In the decades that followed, Yoakum helped facilitate the merger of the law enforcement, security police and combat arms training and maintenance career fields, co-authored the first Airman's Manual and won an Air Force-level functional award. Yet, to him, it was just a matter of timing and opportunity.

One of his former commanders, Col. Paul Kasuda, Air Force Security Forces Center operations branch chief, is confident there was more to the secret of Yoakum's success than good luck.

"There is no doubt that there are thousands of other stories about people whose lives he's touched in the last 30 years," Kasuda said. "His records are replete with examples of accomplishments at the tactical, strategic, but the legacy lies in the mentoring of his Airmen and office corps."

Tech. Sgt. Bryan Leones, 60th Security Forces Squadron training instructor, remembers first meeting Yoakum at Hickam AFB, Hawaii.

"Seeing all those stripes, I was very anxious, but then he put me at ease and made sure everything was on track for me," he said. "I knew then my leadership cared. I'd like to think that I am a reflection of him in some ways now that I'm in the position to help others."

On May 1, 2006, Yoakum became part of the top 1 percent of the enlisted force when he was promoted to chief master sergeant.

When retired Senior Master Sgt. Lou Briscese met Yoakum at Travis AFB, California, in 2009, Briscese was the 60th SFS first sergeant, and Yoakum was the unit's new security forces manager. The two immediately bonded.

"He knew the triangle between a shirt, commander and chief is vital to an organization. You have to have good professional working relationships, and that was important to us so we could be successful in taking care of Airmen and the mission," Briscese said.
Good relationships have been important to Yoakum at work and at home, which is now evidenced by his daughter, Shelby, and son, Tyler, who are now forging their own fledgling Air Force careers.

Yoakum's impact on the Air Force will live on long after his career. The eight stripes and chest full of decorations he wore at his May 15 retirement ceremony were an indication of his character and sacrifices, but his legacy lives on in the men and women of the Air Force and all of their successes. He summed that up by recalling his fondest memories.

"The people, the people, the people," he said. "Our two kids, Tyler and Shelby. I couldn't be prouder of them. Yes, my stripes and medals mean something, but it's the stripes I helped others get, the missions we accomplished and the good times we shared that matter most."