Shirt makes Chief

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Chief Master Sgt. Laura Noel (left) and Chief Master Sgt. Chris Bostrom (right) tack stripes on Senior Master Sgt. Raul Ruiz during a surprise ceremony notifying him of his promotion to chief master sergeant on March 17. Because of a recent deployment, Chief Ruiz tested out of cycle and was selected for promotion during the latest supplemental release. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Shirt makes chief

Published March 24, 2011
By Sarah Olaciregui
66th Air Base Group Public Affairs

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- In a surprise ceremony on March 17, then-Senior Master Sgt. Raul Ruiz, Electronic Systems Center first sergeant, received news he was selected for promotion to chief master sergeant as part of the supplemental promotion release.

Because he was deployed, Chief Ruiz did not get to test for promotion in September. Instead, he tested out of cycle in February and had to wait for the supplemental results.

"I was hopeful that I would make chief when I tested," he said. "I thought I had decent chance of making it, but I was pleasantly surprised when I found out."

His official date of rank was March 1, so those who see him may already call him "Chief."

Now, Chief Ruiz waits for what is in store.

"I expect that I will have to move in the next few months," he said. "I was told to remain flexible, but I won't know for several months where I will be going. My hope is that the Air Force will have a first sergeant position for a chief master sergeant that I can move into."

Chief Ruiz entered the Air Force in May 1984 as an inventory management specialist. After serving 17 years as a logistician, he trained to be a first sergeant. For nearly nine years, he has been serving as a Shirt in a variety of locations and has been at Hanscom since 2007.