News

Leaving lasting impressions

  • Published
  • By Roland Balik
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The unwritten legacy of an individual can be told by stories or events that one has experienced and thus, leaving a life-long impression on them.

Representing Team Dover, nine members of various ranks, carpooled to Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia on August 14, 2015, to attend a memorial service for the ninth Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James C. Binnicker.

Chief Binnicker passed away on March 21, 2015 at the age of 76 in Calhoun, Georgia and was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, section 57 after a memorial service at the Fort Meyers post chapel, Arlington, Virginia.

"I wanted to go because he was the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force when I came in in 1989," said Chief Master Sgt. John Elstrom, 436th Maintenance Group superintendent.

Twice in his Air Force career, Elstrom was able to listen to Binnicker speak; first at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and then at a panel of former CMSAFs held during Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Office Academy at Maxwell Air Force Base-Gunter Annex, Alabama.

"I think all the Airmen that went except for one, have never been to Arlington before," said Elstrom. "Just seeing Arlington National Cemetery had a lot of impact on the Airmen."

For one young Airman who entered the Air Force almost 25 years after the Chief retired, hearing about what he did during and after his career, along with praise from speakers during the eulogy, left a lasting impression.

"It was a great opportunity," said Airman 1st Class Raquel Chaparro, 436th Force Support Squadron services apprentice. "It makes me want to work harder."

After the memorial service, Team Dover members became part of the procession that followed the caisson a mile and a half to the Chief's final resting place.

Being a first-termer and applying to cross-train, the legacy of Chief Binnicker has touched the young Air Force career for one noncommissioned officer.

"I got a really strong feeling that a lot of people cared about him," said Staff Sgt. Naomi Rice, 436th Medical Support Squadron lab technician. "I feel he put everything that he could have into his job."

Elstrom noted that this was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience, honoring Air Force heritage and mentoring young Airmen as part of being a chief master sergeant.