CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
An Airman with Charleston AFB earned a Stripes for Exceptional Performers promotion Dec. 12 here.
Master Sgt. Roy Rogers, 437th Logistics Readiness Squadron, NCO in charge of vehicle operations, was presented with master sergeant stripes by Col. John "Red" Millander, 437th Airlift Wing commander, during a commander's call at the base theater.
Before Sergeant Rogers was presented with his new stripes, Colonel Millander had the sergeant go up on stage to talk briefly about his job at the 437 LRS, but he did not receive new stripes until after Colonel Millander had a few things to say about him being "out of uniform."
"I was a little confused at first because I'm very meticulous about my uniform and I know I had all of the correct gear, but I quickly confirmed that I did have all of the correct uniform requirements that [went with my uniform]," Sergeant Rogers said.
After being jokingly told about not being in the correct uniform, Sergeant Rogers was presented with his new stripes by the colonel and 437 AW Command Chief Master Sgt. Mike Ivey.
Because Sergeant Rogers has been on convalescent leave since mid-November, he had no idea of the pending promotion. But, once presented with his new master sergeant stripes, he was "humbled."
"My leadership thought enough of me to submit my name for this honor," said the four-time deployment veteran. "I couldn't ask for a better group of leaders than what we have in LRS. We have an outstanding team from the top to the bottom and it is an honor to be associated with the men and women of the 437 LRS."
While Sergeant Roger thanked his squadron for the recognition, he wanted to also thank the Airmen he works with.
"I want to ensure that all of my praise is appropriately dispersed to the Airmen of which I have the privilege of working with," Sergeant Rogers said. "My Airmen are the reason for my accomplishments. I wouldn't have done anything without their undying will and resolve."
The Bronze Star recipient's chance at receiving a STEP promotion was made a reality by the help of his superintendent.
"He is my go-to guy," said Master Sgt. Matthew Amerson, 473 LRS Vehicle Operations superintendent. "When we were tasked with a short-notice request to go to Greenville, S.C., when Air Force One was diverted there, Sergeant Rogers was able to coordinate transportation for aerospace ground equipment Airmen and their equipment and travel up to Greenville within seven hours."
When the superintendents of 437 LRS were asked for STEP promotion nominees, only one name kept coming up.
"Without fail, when the superintendents were tasked with coming up with names for the STEP nominee, Sergeant Rogers name came up immediately," Sergeant Amerson said.
According to www.About.com U.S. Military Web site, less than 200 STEP promotion slots are released from the Air Force annually. The slots are usually distributed to the various major commands, which then usually distribute them to the wings. There is generally only two or three STEP allocations given to each wing per year. Wing commanders can then use these allocations to promote outstanding individuals to staff sergeant, technical sergeant or master sergeant.