Page 5 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt, April 2019

Thunderbolt news April 2019
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5
Ask the chief, times two
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Chief Master Sgt. Dominic Hemingway, 56th Maintenance Group superintendent, stands with his son and wife, Chief Mas- ter Sgt. Rochelle Hemingway, 56th Medi- cal Operations Squadron superintendent. Their careers brought the husband and wife team together, but faith, love for the Air Force and a strong support system have kept them going.
Courtesy photo
by Staff Sgt. JENNA BIGHAM
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
It’s been said by many that “Marriage is hard work,” but when you’ve got the right pair, anything is possible.
Chief Master Sgt. Rochelle Hemingway, 56th Medical Operations Squadron super- intendent, and Chief Master Sgt. Dominic Hemingway, 56th Maintenance Group su- perintendent, are on opposite ends of the flightline, but they know the secret to success at work and at home.
Between the two chiefs they have more than 56 years in the Air Force, nine deployments, 10 bases, one resilient little boy, 16 stripes and they’ve faced plenty of bumps in the road, but through it all they’ve kept going.
Rochelle says it wasn’t always smooth sail- ing. There came a time when she was a first sergeant and the next rank, senior master sergeant, didn’t seem to be coming, causing her to re-evaluate what was important.
“I thought I was doing enough to get pro- moted, but I had to step back and realize there was a bigger picture and that if I continued to work hard, eventually I would be recognized for my efforts,” she said.
Her husband had his own take on it.
“It’s harder to be an all-star against a whole tier of people who are all-stars,” he said.
For Dominic, senior master sergeant took
just as much hard work to get there. He says he did it with his family cheering him on.
When asked by others why his wife is at ev- ery awards ceremony and vice versa, Dominic says, “Because great people are around great people, and they go on to become even greater people when it’s their time.”
Dominic’s time came when he found out he made it to the top 1 percent of the enlisted force.
“When he made chief, my dad, who served 23 years in the Air Force, called up and I swear he had a mini heart attack,” Rochelle said. “He had party after party after party. I was so proud of him too. There’ve been times when he thought he was done for one reason or another, but when he made chief, it just showed that all of that hard work paid off. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
When it was Rochelle’s time and it was announced that she made chief, her husband says he was ecstatic, and her dad was there cheering on the family again.
“I don’t know who was more excited, but I can tell you who enjoyed it more than both of us,” Rochelle said.
Her dad was on the phone again and kept saying “Two chiefs! Two chiefs!” Dominic added with a smile.
So how did they get there and how do they keep it all together?
Rochelle says sometimes it feels like you’re spinning your wheels and not doing anything.
You have to remember to do what the Air Force asks you to do.
“Take care of your people,” Dominic said. “You can’t go out thinking if I follow this path then this will happen. You got to keep taking care of the people and forget about yourself sometimes.”
Even after making it to chief, they say the work is never done.
“It’s never the end,” Dominic said. “That’s the best thing about it. Not only are we active- duty chiefs, we’ll retire and still be able to impact the military community and the civil- ian community.”
To those in need of an extra push, Rochelle enjoys motivating them.
“Airmen get stuck somewhere in their life- cycle of the Air Force, and I always go back and ask them why they came into the Air Force,” she said. “Why did you raise your hand? Find some way to get back to that and stay positive. There is nothing like a negative mind. It will eat away at you.”
They also agree that creating good habits and finding a mentor in someone who has been there before and made it through will help on the path to success.
As for life at home, Dominic says it’s all about communication.
“We’re not going to agree on everything,” Dominic said. “But we’re going to sit down
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