Retired Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright claps after he helped unveil the sign that names the airman leadership school after him during a ceremony at Kapaun Air Station in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Sept. 19, 2024. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
KAPAUN AIR STATION, Germany — The largest schoolhouse for young airmen in Europe now carries the name of one of the most popular former chief master sergeants of the Air Force.
A sign for the Kaleth O. Wright Airman Leadership School was unveiled Thursday during a ceremony at this small installation a few miles from Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany.
“I certainly never thought I would be important enough to have an entire school named after me,” Wright told airmen and local leaders seated outdoors on the school’s stone drill pad.
The institution was known as the Ramstein Airman Leadership School since it opened in 1992. It’s where airmen take their first professional military education classes before becoming staff sergeants. About 500 students go through the school every year, making it the service’s largest in Europe.
Wright, the 18th chief master sergeant of the Air Force, served six of his 32 years in the Air Force at Ramstein, including as an instructor at the nearby Kisling NCO Academy, named after another former chief master sergeant of the Air Force, the late Richard Kisling.
“Our leadership had long toyed with the idea of renaming our schoolhouse,” said Master Sgt. Nathan Ryan, the airman leadership school’s commandant. “Someone had the idea, ‘What about Chief Wright?’
“His work as the chief master sergeant of the Air Force and even before that has been an inspiration to all of us,” Ryan said. “He’s been colloquially known as ‘Enlisted Jesus.’ A lot of folks look up to him.”
That nickname evolved from Wright’s reputation as an advocate and changemaker for the enlisted force, giving him an aura of celebrity that has persisted since he retired in 2020.
“Everyone talks about him very frequently,” said Senior Airman Cameron Dresser, a weather forecaster at Kapaun who joined the service in 2021 and graduated from airman leadership school last week.
“I’ve heard he’s done a lot of great things for the Air Force, approaching things differently than other chiefs,” Dresser said. “It’s really awesome to see a school get named after him.”
Airmen shake hands with retired Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright after the Airman Leadership School at Kapaun Air Station in Kaiserslautern was named after him at a Sept. 19, 2024, ceremony. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Airmen stand in formation Sept. 19, 2024, at the ceremony at Kapaun Air Station in Kaiserslautern, Germany, that unveiled the renamed Kaleth O. Wright Airman Leadership School. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
A portrait of retired Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright hangs in the hallway of the Air Force leadership school at Kapaun Air Station, Germany, that now bears his name. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
Col. Jamil Musa, the 86th Airlift Wing deputy commander, lauded Wright’s “approachability and ability to connect both directly and via social media with airmen,” his advocacy for mental health and his work to revitalize squadrons and revamp the enlisted promotion system.
“In short, he led a positive cultural shift within our force,” he said.
Wright, the second Black man to serve as the Air Force’s top enlisted leader, also will be remembered for sparking discussions about racial inequality.
In a 2020 tweet after George Floyd’s murder following his arrest by Minneapolis police, Wright said his worst fear was not that he might one day be killed by a white police officer but that he would “wake up to a report that one of our Black Airmen has died at the hands of a white police officer.”
Four years after the killing of Floyd, Senior Airman Roger Fortson was fatally shot in May by a Florida sheriff’s deputy when he answered his door.
“That was one of my greatest fears, so I was pretty sad to see it happen,” Wright said in an interview after Thursday’s ceremony. “I really feel for his family, for his mother. It’s unfortunate that things like that still happen in this country.”
Wright also advocated for more diversity in the service, especially in the senior ranks.
“I’m not quite sure I’m seeing more women and minorities in the senior leadership ranks, particularly in the officer and civilian leadership ranks, but I know that solutions like that take a lot of time,” he said.
These days, Wright does leadership and management consulting, executive coaching and speaking engagements. He sits on a few corporate and academic boards as well.
“But mostly I’m playing golf and smoking cigars and enjoying life, enjoying retirement,” he said.
His message to airmen: “Learn as much as you can, absorb as much as you can and just kind of be on a mission to be the best version of yourself.”
The Air Force did just that for him, Wright said at the ceremony.
“I’m just a kid from Columbus, Georgia, who always wanted to make my parents proud,” he said. “Thank you for allowing me to become the best version of myself and being able to help quite a few people along the way.”
