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Mentoring Moments: Chief Master Sgt. Paul Martin

Mentoring Moments: Chief Master Sgt. Paul Martin

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Paul Martin, the 354th Medical Group (MDG) superintendent, poses for a photo outside the MDG building April 3, 2018, at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Martin joined the Air Force in 1992 and just recently celebrated 26 years of service. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cassie Whitman)

Mentoring Moments: Chief Master Sgt. Paul Martin

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Mario Aceves, the 45th Medical Group superintendent based out of Patrick Air Force Base (AFB), Fla., and Chief Master Sgt. Paul Martin, the 354th Medical Group superintendent, recreated a photo from when they were senior airmen. Martin and Aceves have a friendship spanning over 25 years. Aceves is important to Martin because of his tremendous and unbreakable loyalty, something that helps them maintain a strong friendship. (Courtesy photo)

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --

“I get told from time to time ‘I want to be just like you,’ or another SNCO. I don’t think that’s the right goal or the right thing to achieve. I think the better thing to achieve is to become the best you and if you become the best you, then you’ll know what it means to be successful.”

                                                                      -CMSgt Paul Martin

Chief Master Sgt. Paul Martin joined the Air Force 26 years ago. After declining an offer from his mother to pay for his college education, Martin wanted to be able to have a livelihood and a future that was determined on his own terms.

Martin, the 354th Medical Group superintendent, never had the goal of becoming a chief master sergeant, but instead had the value of his work ethic in the forefront of his mind.

“I was going to work, and do my best for the necessity of whatever my job was,” said Martin. “In this case, it turned out to be patient care, as my job was medical laboratory.”

Martin describes his journey to chief a little differently from others who have carved their own path to the highest enlisted rank. The quality of his work is what drove him and when it came time to decide if he was going to reenlist, his family was his first thought.

“I wanted to see what options were available when it came to jobs,” said Martin. “I realized the grass wasn’t necessarily greener on the outside and decided to reenlist. There was a sense of duty I needed to fulfill; it was to be able to serve honorably and have good value and workmanship.”

When he reached the rank of staff sergeant, Martin’s career hit a stumbling block. He was arrested and charged with two felonies, something he now reflects on as an eye-opener for him.

“I realized I was not the person I thought I was,” he said. “I had to reexamine myself and I realized I couldn’t let this be the true me; I didn’t allow it to be the true me, so I kept working hard.”

With a new attitude, Martin now had the goal of being a noncommissioned officer in charge of his own section in the lab and he wanted to effect change in his own scope of responsibility.

“I started to enjoy being a supervisor,” said Martin. “I enjoyed teaching people and getting people motivated; affecting folks in a positive way was necessary. Fast forward a bit and I became a first sergeant and fell in love with the job, but as time went on I realized I could do more for the Air Force back in the lab.”

The ranks kept accumulating for Martin as he maintained focus on doing well in whatever his scope of responsibility was at the time. As he looks back now, there are several words of encouragement he has for all Airmen.

“When trying to overcome an obstacle, you must prove to yourself whatever it is you need to do, first,” he said. “In turn, it proves to others that you are far better than the mistake you made. If you allow the mistake to define you, you will always be just that, but if you allow your goodness, greatness and refocus to define you, then that’s what you become.”

Martin also commented on how to encourage Airmen who are trying to find themselves and evaluate the decision of reenlisting.

“The first thing to remember, is to weigh all options,” he said. “Don’t just say yes or no based on emotions, but weigh them carefully. The next would be to remember why you joined the military in the first place. We generally join the military because we want a better life, but the quest for a better life is not a recipe. If you want a better life, how do you get that, and that should be your focus.”