JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Joint Base Charleston and the 628th Air Base Wing recently welcomed its new command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Earl Hannon, to Joint Base Charleston.
Joining the Air Force in 1987, Hannon has served in several commands to include: Air Force Strategic Command, Pacific Air Forces, Air Force Material Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, United States Southern Command, Air Combat Command and Air Mobility Command.
"I am absolutely humbled and honored to serve here at Joint Base Charleston," said Hannon, a native of McClure, Penn.
This isn't Hannon's first tour as a command chief.
"I've had the pleasure of serving in the Air Force for more than 20 years and as a command chief at more than one base," said Hannon.
Hannon's first tour as a command chief was at Eielson Air Force Base, Ala., with the 354th Fighter Wing followed by his previous assignment, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., with the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, which was recently inactivated.
"Colonel McComb called me the same day the 21st EMTF inactivated and asked me to come here to serve as his command chief," said Hannon. "I believe having served at a joint base had a lot to do with him calling me."
"We've set the bar high here at Joint Base Charleston and continually look for ways to improve the support we provide across the installation," said CoI. Richard McComb, Joint Base Charleston commander. "With Chief Hannon's level of experience at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, I know he will continue that legacy of excellence, and take JB Charleston to the next level. Chief Hannon is a great addition to our team and I look forward to serving with him."
During his 20-plus years of service, Hannon's duties have ranged from equipment maintenance, quality assurance and manpower management at the wing, major command and combatant command levels.
Serving as the JB Charleston and 628th ABW command chief, Hannon will provide leadership oversight in providing installation support to all JB Charleston mission partners as well as provide guidance and instruction to all the first sergeants stationed here.
"I look forward to meeting and working with the motivated Sailors and Airmen here to accomplish the mission," said Hannon.
Hannon understands the Air Force is asking a lot of its Airmen right now and stressed the need for Airman to take care of themselves and each other.
"Every Airman's top priority should be to take care of themselves mentally, physically, spiritually and socially," said Hannon.
He also stressed the importance of accomplishing the mission.
"We need our Airman to be fit and that means not just physically fit, but to be fit in all four pillars of the Comprehensive Airman Fitness initiative," said Hannon.
CAF enables Airmen to be more resilient by approaching situations positively and maintaining a healthy mind, body, spirit and social fitness level.
"If our Airmen are not happy or taken care of in their personal lives they will be distracted when it comes time to complete the mission at hand," said Hannon. "The four pillars are what we need our Airmen to be focused on so we can continue to be the greatest Air Force in the world, not just because of technological advancements, but because of the strength of each individual Airman."
Having served in AMC once before, Hannon has had the opportunity to see AMC Airmen in action.
"The Airmen in AMC are dedicated to getting the mission done, whether it is providing humanitarian relief, delivering fuel to the fight or bringing service members to and from war - they work 24/7, 365 days a year to get the mission done," said Hannon.
Hannon went on to paraphrase Gen. Raymond Johns, AMC commander, by saying "Somebody somewhere needs something and it is our mission to answer that call."
Hannon concluded, "I want to continue to build on the foundation of the 628th ABW and help our service members reach their full potential, whether it's through education, promotion or any other facet of their professional lives."