Technical sergeants cross into senior NCO corps Published Sept. 23, 2017 By Mark Wyatt 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Fourteen technical sergeants ceremoniously crossed into the senior noncommissioned officer corps during a Senior NCO Induction Ceremony held here Sept. 22. The induction ceremony followed a four-day Senior NCO Professional Enhancement Seminar at the base’s Education and Training Center. “The seminar provides future master sergeants with an in-depth view of the increased supervisory, leadership and managerial responsibilities that they will have as senior NCOs,” said Master Sgt. John Fisher, who facilitated the course. “The transition from NCO to senior NCO is significant; this class assists in making it more effective.” Tech. Sgt. Joshua Okoth, an imagery analyst for Geospatial Research and Development at Rome, New York, spoke about how the course has helped him as he prepares to take greater responsibility as a master sergeant. “As you become a senior NCO a lot of the things that we’ve learned throughout our careers in earlier PME is now being applied in totality,” said Okoth. “The Air Force has prepared each of us well to take on this added responsibility and lead the next generation of Airmen.” Among myriad topics discussed during the four-day course, students heard about leadership from Chief Master Sgt. Henry Hayes, Hanscom’s command chief, who also served as the guest speaker for the induction ceremony. During his speech at the ceremony, Hayes challenged honorees to “drive and go forward.” “Many of us have had sudden and subtle changes in our path toward what we believed to be our future,” said Hayes, who spoke about the complexities of leadership. “Often we expect someone else to guide us to our destination. You must be empowered to make sound decisions.” The following attended the course and ceremony: Master Sgt. Jaime Beltran, 319th Recruiting Squadron Tech. Sgt. Scott Davies, Acquisition Intelligence Division Tech. Sgt. David Fell, 64th Air Refueling Squadron Tech. Sgt. Marie Garcia, 313th Recruiting Squadron Master Sgt. Chris Henderson, 313th Recruiting Squadron Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Heinze, 319th Recruiting Squadron Tech. Sgt. Harvey Holloway, 66th Security Forces Squadron Master Sgt. Chrystal McGee, 66th Comptroller Squadron Tech. Sgt. Joshua Okoth, Air Force Research Laboratory Tech. Sgt. Tyler Pestell, 319th Recruiting Squadron Tech. Sgt. Adrian Poke, 313th Recruiting Squadron Tech. Sgt. Fernando Reyes, 64th Air Refueling Squadron Tech. Sgt. James Rivas, 64th Air Refueling Squadron Tech. Sgt. Steven Winiarski, 319th Recruiting Squadron