Chief Moreau retires

Published July 15, 2009
By Airman 1st David Salanitri
81st Training Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Chief Master Sgt. Paul Moreau, 2nd Air Force command chief, is retiring after almost 30 years of service.

Chief Moreau's retirement ceremony is 3:30 p.m. Friday in Welch Auditorium with a reception following at the Dragon's Lair.

Chief Moreau, who assumed his duties at 2nd Air Force in May 2008, has held numerous positions and titles throughout his career, but started his career in the intelligence community.

"Where I'm from, you graduate from high school and either go to college if your parents are wealthy, go to work and join a union or you join the military," said the Massachusetts native. "I originally wanted to join the Coast Guard, but I had an uncle who was a retired Army intel officer who said go Air Force and go intel, so that's what I did."

Chief Moreau enlisted during the Air Force's peak population period and has witnessed a manning decrease as well the technology boom.

"We've always been Warrior Airmen, but now we're fewer Airmen doing amazing things," he pointed out. "We bent technology to our mission. Now an Airman can guide a bomb to hit an enemy in their back pocket."

During the chief's career, he's experienced close to 12 assignments, with each one a little better than the last.

"It's a popular saying that 'your best assignment was your last assignment,' but I feel as though every assignment I'm in is my favorite one," said Chief Moreau. "I can honestly say I have never had a bad assignment. Every assignment has something Chief Moreau retires good going for it -- you just need to find it sometimes."

During Chief Moreau's 14 months at Keesler, he's been aware of the base's transformation since Hurricane Katrina nearly four years ago.

"It's been amazing to see all the recovery efforts put forward by Keesler personnel to showcase the base as one of the premiere installations in the Air Force."

Even though Chief Moreau won't be wearing his airman battle uniform anymore, he'll be swapping it out for an Air Force Junior ROTC instructor uniform in Somerset, Pa.

Replacing Chief Moreau is Chief Master Sgt. Linus Jordan, who is coming from Yokota Air Base, Japan where he was the command chief.