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New Chief steps into important role

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Kinder Blacke
  • 552nd Air Control Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AFB, Okla. --  Over the course of the month, the 552nd Air Control Wing is making an important transition as the current command chief steps down and a new leader for the Airmen takes his place.

The current command chief, Chief Master Sgt. James Foltz is retiring August 14, and by the time he is saying his farewells, the new command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Scott Magoon will be up and running where Chief Foltz leaves off.

As the command chief, Chief Magoon will be expected to "put our Airmen first and advise the commander of what he sees that needs to be fixed across the installation," said Chief Foltz, "I have no doubt he will succeed."

Chief Foltz and Chief Magoon are no strangers. They served together in the AWACS training squadron, where Chief Foltz was able to recognize Chief Magoon's many strengths. "Chief Magoon is an Airman's Airman," said Chief Foltz, "'No' is not in his vocabulary."

With over 25 years in the Air Force, Chief Magoon steps into this role with a diverse background and a wealth of experience. In the past, he has spent time working with Security Forces, Combat Arms Training, Maintenance, and Airborne Battle Management Systems (now called Airborne Operations). He also was qualified in the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) and worked on the NATO AWACS Headquarters staff in Belgium.

Despite all of the places he has been, Chief Magoon said he cannot think of any place he would rather be serving than right here in America's Wing. Prior to assuming this role, Chief Magoon served as the chief enlisted leader to the 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron, but is excited to take on the even bigger responsibility of serving the entire wing.

"I feel truly blessed by this opportunity to serve," said Chief Magoon, "I am ecstatic and looking forward to working with the outstanding warriors of America's Wing, but also humbled by the trust and confidence that has been placed in me by Colonel Hoffman."

Chief Magoon assured the wing, saying that the transition from Chief Foltz will be seamless. "Chief Foltz is an outstanding chief and did a fantastic job leading this wing," he said, "and I don't have any immediate plans to change a thing."

When stepping into his new role, Chief Magoon hopes to just "watch and listen for a while to get a feeling for what is going on." He explained, "We don't necessarily need to change things just for the sake of changing them."

Although he doesn't have major reform plans, Chief Magoon does want to leave the wing better than it was when he assumed the position. "That may be a hard task as this is a great wing and Chief Foltz did an amazing job," he admitted, but there is always room for improvement.

His daily goal is "to ensure that we take care of our most valuable resource, our people that make this wing run like a well-oiled machine."

Chief Foltz has all confidence that Chief Magoon will achieve his goals. "I have seen him in action taking care of our Airmen and their families," he said, "his record of outstanding performance and 'can do' attitude will serve him well as your new command chief."

While Chief Magoon supports his Air Force family at work, he has his own support system at home. He met his British wife, Karen, during an assignment to England, and has a son in the Virginia Army National Guard, a daughter living in Belgium, and a step-daughter who lives with her daughter here in Oklahoma City.

While he is obviously proud of his own family, the wing's new command chief says he is "extremely proud of our Airmen in the only integrated Air Battle Management Wing in the Air Force and how they take the fight to our nation's adversaries around the globe 24/7/365." The Airmen of the 552 ACW will continue to strive to do so under his leadership and guidance.