FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. –
Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Adam Rising is the outgoing senior enlisted advisor to the Defense Contract Management Agency, where he advises Army Lt. Gen. David Bassett, DCMA director, on health, morale and utilization of enlisted military personnel assigned to DCMA; and makes recommendations to the director on quality-of-life matters impacting military members assigned to the agency.
Rising will hand over senior enlisted advisor responsibilities to Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Babatunji Akande Oct. 20 at a ceremony at DCMA headquarters, Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia. The event will be streamed live beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern. Rising will retire next month after 30 years of service.
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To my DCMA Family,
Serving you for the last five years has been one of the greatest honors of my 30-year Air Force career. During the time that I was privileged to be a part of this Agency and mission, you never let me lose sight of what was most important: taking care of each other, and taking care of our warfighters. Those two priorities go hand-in-hand. The better we serve one another, the better we accomplish our mission of equipping our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardians, with the means necessary to support and defend our Nation. And for that, I thank you!
You also taught me how to be a better leader. You showed me that leadership is more than just direction. Leadership is also relationship. I learned getting to know others is not a burden, but an investment. The dedication to knowing, then hearing, then understanding one another yields mutual returns that go beyond just getting the job done. You also offered me the grace I needed to make a few mistakes, learn new skills, and find success through your support. For that, I thank you!
You accepted me as an equal and valued my inputs despite my initial inexperience with our mission. You never made me feel like an outsider. Where I needed guidance or advice, you provided it, and when I offered my own insight, you considered and implemented the best parts. Your willingness to explore new ideas in the constant pursuit of excellence inspired me daily and I will carry that with me. For that, I thank you!
Most of all, you became my community and my family. It is often said on leaving an assignment that one will not miss the work, but they will miss the people. For me, this is a two-edged sword, because my work was the people. As I write this, I am overcome with pride and deeply humbled by the magnitude of difference we made together. We built a collaborative CARES Council and a world-class Mentorship Program. We tackled difficult conversations on race and extremism. We confronted and removed barriers to mental health and suicide prevention. We found creative ways to bring our best talent to the most important work. We conquered a world-wide pandemic while keeping our Nation ready at home and abroad. And now we continue to prevail as we shape the future of DCMA to meet the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. For that, I am in your debt.
I trust, as the team of professionals that you are, that you will accept and support your next Senior Enlisted Advisor, Chief Master Sergeant Babatunji Akande, in the same spirit you gave me. He will need you as much as I did, to guide him in serving you best, to build bridges where I left gaps, to repair the ones I damaged, and reinforce the ones that get us where we need to go.
My sincerest thanks to all of you, and I look forward to reading about the amazing things you will do for our Nation through your service and dedication to our DCMA mission. Or we can grab a cup of coffee and you can tell me all about it as it seems my calendar is clearing up.
Godspeed to you all, and thank you for your service!
Chief