Chief Master Sergeant (Ret.) Louis Fischer entered the Air Force in 1984 as a security forces Airman. He deployed in support of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Safe Haven, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
He still remembers his experience as one of the first enlisted Airmen to become a Military Training Leader at the U.S. Air Force Academy, a position now known as the Academy Military Training Noncommissioned Officer. “There was no description as to what the job entailed,” he said. “You were, in most cases, the cadets’ first exposure to an enlisted person, which would set the stage for future exchanges in their careers.”
As an MTL, Fischer also served in a first sergeant role, addressing cadets’ issues and concerns. “You mentored the cadets, showed them what an NCO does and how NCOs take care of their people,” Fischer said. “You also assisted them in their development.” Fischer served more than seven years as an MTL, and still has former cadets, many of whom became squadron commanders, approach him with the respect afforded to a leader. Although Fisher completed his 25-year active-duty career when he retired in 2009, he continues to serve the Air Force as the base antiterrorism officer at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo. “The Air Force is pretty much my family and I want to stay in the family,” he said.