Hill command chief retires after 28 years

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  • By 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  The 75th Air Base Wing's command chief master sergeant will retire effective Dec. 1, 2016, after more than 28 years of military service.

In remarks during his retirement ceremony Sept. 30 at the Hill Aerospace Museum, Chief Master Sgt. Rodney T. Gaither spoke to an audience of family members and friends, and active-duty, retired and civilian Airmen.

“Remember this: You have to take care of each other, no matter what,” he said to those in attendance. “It’s plain and simple. No matter where you are in the world, no matter what’s going on, you have to take care of each other!”

Since his arrival here in July 2015, Chief Gaither has focused on the base’s mission and the more than 20,000 total force Airmen and civilians who accomplish it here. He’s also focused on families, professional development, and training.

“What a professional Airman, what an individual!” said Col. Ronald Jolly, former 75th Air Base Wing commander and current Headquarters U.S. Air Force associate director of resource integration, who presided over the ceremony. “As a chief master sergeant, all he did was continue to display his awesomeness. He’s also a great friend and he’s also a great mentor.”

Among his many accomplishments here, he was instrumental to major base missions including the bed down of the first combat-coded F-35A aircraft wing, major military construction projects, treaty compliance, and deployments.

Besides being a key contributor to big Hill AFB missions, Jolly also noted that Chief Gaither embraced all Team Hill Airmen – those in uniform, the civilian corps, and contractors. “That’s his legacy,” he said. “He does a great job of taking care of us and no one can do it better.”

After basic military training in 1988, Chief Gaither attended the inventory management course at Lowry AFB, Colorado. His career background included logistics duties at major command, numbered Air Force, wing and squadron levels. He served as the 37th Training Group superintendent at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, before assuming the command chief master sergeant position here.

In closing, Chief Gaither said, “It has been an honor for me to be a part of your family!”