Congratulations on a job well done staff sergeant selects! Published Aug. 11, 2006 By Chief Master Sgt. Michael Williams 60th Air Mobility Wing command chief TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Congratulations to our new Staff Sergeant selects...well done! Each announcement brings joy to those selected for promotion to the next grade and disappointment to those who are not. For those of you, who did not earn your promotion this year, stay focused and do not give up. Dedicate yourself to developing and implementing a systematic plan to study and commit to your plan. It is not easy, but you can do it! Simply sacrifice a few hours a day for a few months and we will more than likely celebrate with you next year...good luck! Staff Sergeant selects, you are about to embark upon one of the most difficult journeys you will encounter in your Air Force career...transitioning from Airman to Non-commissioned Officers. Each stripe you have earned in your brief Air Force career is equally important and although it may not feel like it, you grow with each promotion. However, joining the ranks of the non-commissioned officer corps is a milestone you should be extremely proud of achieving. Life in our Air Force as you know it today will soon change because of your new status. We will now require you to draw an unwavering line in the sand...a line which separates you from your subordinates and some of your peers. Your subordinates will easily grasp and understand your new role as a supervisor. The daunting challenge for you is getting your peers that are airman to accept and respect that they can no longer refer to by your first name. Realize this has nothing to do with your personal desires to be called sir, ma'am or sergeant. No, on the contrary, it is about those NCO chevrons you will soon display on your uniform. You must take great pride in your new status and never forget a lot of people paved the way for us, some paying the ultimate price. NCOs as we know them today were not always held in such high regards. The enlisted men and women that came before us earned the respect and trust of our officers. You see, those pioneers embodied our core values, took pride in mission accomplishment, taking care of their people and subsequently were referred to as the backbone of the most formidable air and space force ever assembled. You will now carry that torch, ensuring at all times you lead by example, and your conduct and actions must reflect those of a non-commissioned officer. Your journey of becoming a good leader and supervisor will be long and arduous. Through out your travels never forget from which you came, always remember/honor those who blazed the trail before you; finally, remember the success of a widget maker is not determined by how many widgets the widget maker can make, but how many widgets the widget maker can get his or her widget makers to make when the widget makers don't want to make widgets. In other words, your success will no longer be judged by your accomplishments but the accomplishments of your subordinates...leadership--the art of influencing others. Take care of your people and they will take care of you. Again, congratulations and I wish you the best.