The Retirement of Chief Master Sergeant Michael Jahner

How does one sum up 30+ years of a person's service to one's country, in a simple blog? Chief Master Sergeant Michael Jahner, or Chief, as we call him, is the very epitomy of what I would like to be: He was our top enlisted non-commissioned officer, he has a super family, he has a rock-solid job as a policeman with the City of Colorado Springs, and he is honored, respected and adored by all. Chief is one of the nicest guys I have ever met, and that is no brown-nosing from me. I found out this weekend that Chief was not always with the Air Force, but previously a member of the Army.

I had the opportunity to share MANY beers with Chief on Saturday night, and learn stories that I otherwise would not be privy to....such as, Chief was a wild prankster in his earlier years.

If somebody pulled a prank on Chief, he would always find a way to get them back. This was proven on Saturday with our Commander. Once, while Chief was gearing up for physical training, our Commander did a "Coin Check" with Chief, whose coin was in his personal bag since Chief was in his running gear. So, Chief was not able to get out his coin, and thus failed the Coin Check. Well, on Saturday, during the middle of his retirement speech, Chief gave the Commander (and really, all of the entire 39th Aerial Port Squadron) a "Coin Check", and the Commander did not have a coin on him, and HE failed it!

Coin Checks probably do not mean that much to those of you who are not a member of the US Military...but whoever fails a Coin Check when one is initiated, must buy drinks for whomever initiated the Coin Check and for everybody else who is able to drop a coin.

Mind you, not just any coin, but a Unit or Squadron coin! And...if a Squadron does a Coin Check, the losing person might be purchasing drinks for say 100+ people! So, losing a Coin Check can be a very spendy, if not downright embarassing, situation, as it was for the Commander when he failed a Coin Check in front of the entire Squadron!!!

My personal story with Chief is we both went to qualify at the gun range together, some time before we deployed to Iraq in 2005. I had usually passed the course, but had never really done all too well on the shooting. I happened to be paired up with Chief that day. At the gun range, a person must shoot from the standing, from the kneeling, and from the prone position (lying on your belly). There are so many shots a person must take, while changing out their ammo cartridges, to reach a certain proficiency.

I could not believe how well I was doing on the range that day, nor could Chief. As it turned out, we both achieved "Expert" ratings and qualified for a ribbon, but we also both shot the same score, 44 out of 50!

Chief also is a finnicky eater. He does not like his food to touch each other, and on occasion, has not eaten a meal if one food item has touched another. Chief did try sushi once, but only after several attempts to get him to try some.

Chief had a gentle demeanor about himself, but a way in bringing about his point without having to hit somebody over the head. One could tell the seriousness of Chief just by the tone of his voice, that did not need a second asking from him to get things accomplished. And when that tone of voice came out, things got done, and done in a hurry.

Still, there was a very niceness about Chief that spoke volumes about him.

I am going to miss Chief, when I next have to qualify at the gun range, and all his silly anctics about and around the Aerial Port. It is sad that all things must come to an end...and so it is with the end of the reign of Chief Michael Jahner.

I wish Chief all the best in his retirement. He shall be severely missed within the Unit, and his shoes will not be easy to fill....LM