News

NCO Academy personnel prepare for school closure

  • Published
  • By Holly Birchfield
  • 78 ABW/PA
Airmen on staff at the Robins NCO Academy are preparing to part ways as the school nears its inactivation on May 20.

Some staff members will make permanent change of station moves to bases Air Force wide to continue their career paths in various military disciplines, while others will transition into other areas at Robins.

Chief Master Sgt. Roy Lapioli, commandant at the academy, will make a permanent change of assignment and remain at Robins. He will become the superintendent of the 78th Mission Support Group in June.

The chief, who has served as the NCOA commandant since July 2006, said while the school's inactivation is filled with bittersweet emotion, he's looking forward to returning to the type of work he began his Air Force career in at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

"I was a heavy equipment operator, affectionately known as a 'dirt boy,'" he said. "I got pulled into the emergency response crew into the Wildland Fire Dozer Program fighting wildland fires and responding to mud slides and earthquakes on and off base."

Chief Lapioli said he's looking forward to returning to a role where he will ensure people have the resources needed to get their jobs done. The fate of other Robins NCOA staff members will vary.

Chief Lapioli said the school started decreasing its staff a few months ago when the staff learned about the school's pending inactivation. Others remaining at the school will part ways this summer.

Master Sgt. Ronald Smith, a flight instructor at the Academy will PCA to the 578th Combat Sustainment Squadron later this month. He graduated from the school in 2003 and joined the staff in 2005, so the school's inactivation hits close to home.

"It is really tough that it's closing," he said. "It has been a really good experience for me personally and professionally to have the opportunity to do this kind of job. Even though I was moving on anyway, I wish the school was staying."

Tech. Sgt. Stacey Rankin, NCOIC of information management and technology, will PCA to the 5th Combat Communications Group in July. She said although her time at the school was short, she learned a lot.

"I've only been here for a year," she said. "I wish I could've been here a little longer. I've met some great coworkers. There have been a lot of great students that have come through (the school). It has been a wonderful experience."

Tech Sgt. Daniel Pacheco, a flight instructor, will PCS to Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C. where he will serve as the NCOIC of the civil engineer pest management shop. He is looking forward to returning to his career roots.

"I'm looking forward to getting back into what the Air Expeditionary Force has changed into because I've been out of the pocket for a couple of years," he said. "Listening to my students talking about how deployments have changed for a lot of them, I'm looking forward to getting back into that and experiencing that for myself."

Although teaching won't be his profession, Sergeant Pacheco said it will always be part of him.

"I don't think I'll ever stop teaching because it's part of who I am," he said. "I'll be using what I've learned in forward locations and back in the work centers and actually deploying. It's going to be awesome."

Others changing jobs include Master Sgt. Jeffrey Sandru, director of evaluations and training, who will become part of the Band of Mid America at Scott AFB, Ill.; Master Sgt. Aaron Rogusky, the director of education who will PCA to the 78th Security Forces Squadron here; Tech. Sgt. Janna' Wesley, an instructor who will move into the Military Personnel Element here; and Tech. Sgt. Janette Sempsrott, an instructor who will PCA to the Robins Airman Leadership School as an instructor.

In addition to NCOA's inactivation, other academies have also closed or are closing, including McGuire AFB, N.J., which closed in 2007; Goodfellow AFB, which will close on May 28; and Kirtland AFB, N.M., which will close in 2009. The NCO academy at Keesler AFB, Miss., has been proposed for closure, but the proposal has not been approved yet, according to Chief Lapioli.

Chief Lapioli said continental NCO academies that will remain open include those at Peterson AFB, Colo., Tyndall AFB, Fla., Gunter AFB, Ala., Lackland AFB, Texas, and McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard Base in Alcoa, Tenn.

In addition, four overseas NCO academies will remain open at locations in Japan, Alaska, Hawaii, and Germany.

Although change doesn't always come easy, the group here agreed that doing what's best for the Air Force mission is the top priority.