Yokota Air Base’s new chief master sergeants for 2003 were inducted at a ceremony on base Jan. 25. They are, left to right: Susumu Cherrix, Marjorie McNichols, Jeffrey Cowardin, Dianne Bowe, Charles LaFleur and Kevin Van Gordon. (Jennifer Svan / S&S)

Perks, prestige and hefty stripes: membership in the enlisted Air Force’s elite group has its privileges.

But enter the world of the chief master sergeant and be prepared to work, says one senior enlisted adviser.

“They will work longer and harder as a chief than they ever did as an airman,” said Clarence Moore, command chief master sergeant for the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan.

After promotion, the new chiefs may be responsible for reviewing enlisted performance reports, ensuring airmen receive proper decorations, escorting distinguished visitors, and acting as the conduit between the command and the enlisted troops, Moore said.

“They’re going to be inundated with paperwork and e-mail,” he said.

But it’s important that chiefs “get out from behind the desk” and visit with the troops, Moore said.

Promotion to chief is competitive — only the top 1 percent in the enlisted ranks make it — but once there, it’s even more difficult to remove a chief.

“One of the first things I was told when I made chief was that it takes an act of Congress to get you kicked out of the service,” Moore said.

“Knowing that fact, you should never be afraid to tell the truth,” he said. “If the baby is ugly, you tell the boss the baby is ugly.”

A chief has to be a leader, Moore said.

“As a senior master sergeant, you can hide behind the technical expert. But as a chief, you’re going to have to be somebody who stands out in front,” he said. “They take the message from the command to the enlisted force.”

Senior master sergeants serve an average of 22 years in the Air Force before promotion to chief.

When determining who gets promoted, the Air Force uses the Weighted Airman Promotion System: test scores, decorations, time in grade and service, Enlisted Performance Report ratings, and other factors.

The ante is raised for senior and chief master sergeant: Individual records also are considered.

The Web site, http://usmilitary.about.com, explains the promotion process in detail.

An evaluation board meets annually in October to select a new batch of chiefs. They consider the following factors: performance, professional competence, leadership, job responsibility, experience, achievements and education.

Board members award points for those records; a computer combines the board and weighted scores. If 20 percent are to be promoted that year, then the top 20 percent of the eligible members in that job with the most total points get the nod.

The board, last fall, reviewed records for 2,815 Air Force senior master sergeants. It chose 561 for promotion, a selection rate of 19.93 percent, according to the Air Force Personnel Center.

The 2001 selection rate was 22 percent.

About 80 senior master sergeants in Pacific Air Forces were selected for promotion.

The secretary of the Air Force bases the promotion rate, in part, on how many chiefs are forecast to retire in the upcoming year, said Tech. Sgt. Terry Glover of the 374th Mission Support Squadron, Yokota Air Base.

Chief promotions also are affected by funding limits. By law, just 3 percent of the enlisted force can be either a senior or chief master sergeant.

The Air Force manages its enlisted promotions differently than the other services. In the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, promotion rates vary by job and depend on how many slots are available in the next grade.

A person, for example, in an under-staffed job may be promoted much faster than the servicewide average.

The Air Force, by contrast, first determines the overall promotion rate in the entire Air Force by forecasting how many slots will be available. This rate then is applied to all Air Force jobs equally.

If, for example, the Air Force decides to promote 19 percent of all eligible technical sergeants to master sergeant, 19 percent will be promoted in all career fields, regardless of staffing.

Individuals selected for promotion to chief sew on their stripes between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1 each year.

Chief-selects are assigned a line number, determined by date of rank, total active federal military service, and date of birth, Glover said.

On or about the 15th of each month, the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, posts a sequence of line numbers that are to be promoted the first day of the following month, Glover said.

“If a chief’s line number is within that sequence and the member receives commander’s approval, then the member is promoted,” she said.

The pay increase becomes effective in the middle of the promotion month.

Promotion to chief incurs a two-year active duty commitment to qualify for non-disability retirement.