CMSAF #9 Binnicker visits Dover AFB

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kathryn Stilwell
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Retired Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James C. Binnicker visited Dover Air Force Base, Del., April 26, 2013. Binnicker served as the ninth Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force from 1986 to 1990.

Binnicker retired following a 33 year career in the Air Force and continues to serve today as CEO of the Air Force Enlisted Village. The Village provides a home and financial assistance to surviving spouses of retired Air Force personnel. This year, Dover AFB raised approximately $65,000 for the Air Force Assistance Fund campaign, which included support to the Air Force Enlisted Village.

Speaking to over 600 Airman at the base theater, Binnicker covered everything from his experiences in the Air Force to how he was motivated by a single person who took an invested interest in him.

"Today we call it mentorship. Back then we didn't call it anything, but it worked," said Binnicker. "I was influenced by a Master Sgt. who ran the flightline, and I worked the flightline for life support. That's how I got to be who I am today -- by having someone who was compassionate toward me."
One of Binnicker's notable contributions to the Air Force was creating and developing the Enlisted Performance Report - an admission he promptly followed up with:

"Please don't go and throw anything at me."

Binnicker even expounded on the critical success of Dover's mission.

"I think the challenges here at Dover are the same all over the Air Force," said Binnicker, "but I think the mission at Dover is clearly upfront and critical to the success to anything we do in Afghanistan or any other war zone because of the airlift portion. Without logistics, nothing happens. In every war, that's always been the limiting factor."

But he also stressed how Airmen adapt to whatever situation is thrown at them.

"I'm most proud of the way our Airmen seem to adapt to whatever contingency is thrown at them, whether it is war, or war on the budget. We seem to adjust. I've been around a long time and we just keep doing it. The airplanes break, but the Airmen, they don't."