Celebrating promotion with family Published April 20, 2012 By Sandra Pishner 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. -- Like a family reunion, Reservists and active-duty Airmen came together in early April to celebrate the achievement of one of their sons. Chief Master Sgt. Robert Richard, a Reservist assigned to the 555th RED HORSE Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., earned his chief's stripes and wanted to celebrate with his family here in Washington. Although he lives in Steilacoom, Wash., he commutes to Nevada for his Reserve duty and has no formal connection to the 446th Airlift Wing here. Richard stopped by the wing headquarters in hopes of catching the command chief to discuss having his promotion ceremony here. Realizing the command chief, a traditional Reservist, was not here, it was suggested that Richard consult with the wing's senior recruiter. Richard tentatively reached out to Chief Master Sgt. Scott Terpening, 446th AW senior recruiter. In typical "Terp" fashion, the recruiting chief grabbed Richard's request for a promotion ceremony and ran with it. "The big thing for me was that this was for my family," said Richard, whose mother was seriously ill when he decided to have the ceremony here. Unfortunately, Richard's mother passed away shortly before the day of the ceremony. "I knew it was going to be close. But at least we have her sister (his aunt) here." The great thing about family reunions is the chance to reacquaint yourself with family members you haven't seen in years. This gathering of Airmen for Richard's promotion brought with it that same opportunity. The chief discovered a former squadron mate from his active-duty days was now the commander of the 627th Air Base Group here. Asked to officiate at his promotion ceremony, Col. Valerie Hasberry agreed. "I was not aware (Richard) lived in the area," said Hasberry. "He actually saw my photo on the JBLM (Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Command poster, realized I was here and contacted me about officiating at the ceremony." Hasberry and Richard last saw each other five years ago. "Chief and I met when we deployed with the 557th RED HORSE Squadron in 2007," Hasberry explains. "We spent a month at pre-deployment training at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin before arriving in Iraq in May 2007." The next "family" reunion for Richard could be his retirement. That may be more than five years down the road, but the Washington family group will be there if invited.