SG names AFMS' new top enlisted member

Chief Master Sgt. Manuel Sarmina, chief, medical enlisted issues, Office of the Surgeon General.

By Master Sgt.  Richard B. Searles
Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs

WASHINGTON -- Lt. Gen. George Peach Taylor Jr., Air Force surgeon general, has chosen Chief Master Sgt. Manuel Sarmina to be the Air Force Medical Service’s next chief, medical enlisted issues.

Sarmina replaces Chief Master Sgt. David Bayliss who retired in late September. Sarmina has been filling the job on an interim basis since the retirement of Bayliss while also working as chief, medical enlisted operations, Air Force Medical Operations Agency, a position he assumed in April of 2001.  Prior to that, Chief Sarmina was assigned as manager, bioenvironmental engineering flight, and Air Force enlisted career field manager, bioenvironmental engineering, Andrews AFB, Maryland. 

When asked about his reaction to being name to his new position, the chief replied, “I understand very clearly that our new surgeon general has given me a wonderful opportunity to serve our AFMS beyond anything I could ever have imagined when I first entered the Air Force.   It is a tremendous honor but I also realize it comes with enormous responsibility.”

Enormous may be an understatement. In the chief’s new position, he will serve as the go-to guy for the surgeon general on all AFMS enlisted matters. The chief will be the voice to the surgeon general for the 22,500 enlisted members currently assigned to the AFMS.

“I want to maintain the momentum we’ve sustained over the past five years to ensure we build the type of AFMS that’s required to meet the many challenges we face as an Air Force and nation,” said Sarmina.

“To achieve this, every enlisted medic needs to be successful.  I will work hard to find ways to help them become successful.  I want to use my position to be an advocate for issues that are important to them.   We have a very energetic, competent and visionary surgeon general,  I want to help him succeed but he cannot be successful without an equally energetic and competent enlisted corps.”

Sarmina said he envisions three main components to his job.  

“First, as the Air Force surgeon general’s senior enlisted advisor it is my responsibility to make sure the issues that are important to the medical enlisted corps are brought to his attention and appropriately addressed.   My job is to thoroughly understand his vision and strategy, understand his policies that support his vision and strategy, and advise him on how these policies impact the enlisted force.

“Second, it’s also my responsibility to make sure our enlisted members are aware of the surgeon’s vision and strategy for the AFMS, that they know how these policies affect them, and to articulate them in a way they will understand.  

“Finally, while I report directly to the surgeon general, I really work for our medical enlisted force.  I am their chief spokesman and direct link to the surgeon general.  I represent their interests and concerns, and articulate these to the surgeon general in a way that he can understand.   I serve General Taylor and the enlisted force best by telling him what he needs to hear, not necessarily what he wants to hear. I don’t think he would want it any other way.”

The chief said he looks forward to working closely with the chief master sergeant of the Air Force in advising him on pertinent medical issues as well as being a strong advocate for administrative and personnel improvements at the Air Force level that he believes will help the AFMS provide a fit and healthy, expeditionary, medically ready force.   

With most new jobs also come new challenges and the chief said he recognizes those challenges and is ready to meet them head on.

"At the top of the list of challenges is retention,” said Sarmina. “ We must find ways to retain our highly trained force.  We don’t have a recruiting problem; we have a retention problem.  Though this isn’t unique to the AFMS it certainly does have a significant impact on our ability to deliver quality medical care to our beneficiaries and their families.   We provide the best health care in the world but if we want to realize our strategy and meet the demands of the future then we need to find ways to retain our people.  They are our greatest resource.” 

The chief said the gains the Air Force have made over the past several years in improving benefits and securing better pay and allowances have helped, but at the end of the day he believe it’s effective leadership and providing a sense of value to their lives that keep our people in uniform.   

“We also need to continue to pursue our enlisted optimization efforts,” said Sarmina. “We spend millions of dollars each year training and developing our people but very seldom do we employ them to the full scope of their abilities and skills.   Our people want to use the skills they’ve been given.  Our efforts to optimize primary and specialty medical care have given us the opportunity to do this.  These initiatives are the core of our peacetime healthcare delivery as well as a readiness enabler, but it cannot succeed without a trained, competent and proficient enlisted force.”

Recruiting International Health Specialists and offering specialized educational programs like the Enlisted Licensed Practical Nurse and Dental Hygienist Programs are other ways the AFMS is expanding career opportunities for enlisted medics.  

Sarmina said the AFMS is working diligently on a number of initiatives that he believe will benefit any enlisted member who wants to pursue a medical career in the Air Force. 

“We want to provide greater leadership and management opportunities; skills they will need to succeed as our future senior leaders,” said Sarmina. “We do a great job providing the technical skills they need to do their jobs but we need to do a better job in developing their leadership skills.  Our Professional Military Education programs provide a solid foundation but the real schooling occurs not in the classroom but in the field where the skills and concepts that are taught in school are developed and applied.

“The goal of these efforts is to better prepare our medical enlisted corps for greater leadership roles as they progress through the ranks.  I don’t think we do as good a job as we can to prepare our younger troops to be Air Force leaders within the AFMS structure.”

At the core of our efforts is our initiative to ensure every Medical Treatment Facility has a funded Medical Group Superintendent said Sarmina. “We want to build a medical enlisted corps that will be prepared to broaden their knowledge and skills beyond their primary functional duties.  We want to groom our younger enlisted members to be the global, strategic Senior NCO’s we’re going to need in the future.  Full implementation and utilization of our Group Superintendent initiative will help us achieve this.  Our enlisted members need senior leadership and guidance more than ever.   I believe many problems can be worked and solved at the squadron and group levels if we have strong enlisted leadership in our facilities that are working for the enlisted members. 

The chief said he strongly supports giving enlisted members more opportunities to become commissioned officers in medical career fields.

“We have shortages in many of our medical officer AFSCs; I believe the medical enlisted corps represents a ready pool of talented, energetic people who would make excellent officers,” said Sarmina. “Not everyone can become commissioned officers, but I believe the opportunities should be there for those who desire commissions.  Expanding commissioning opportunities is good for the Air Force and provides added incentive for enlisted members to complete their off-duty education and remain in the Air Force.”

The chief added that he’s excited about the future as the Air Force is undergoing the most significant transformation since its inception in 1947.

“This is an exciting time to be an Air Force member.  We face significant challenges, but above all, we must not forget for a moment that our nation is at war.   This will require sacrifices we must all bear.  

“In peacetime as in war, the mission of the AFMS is to support the line.  Therein lies the heart of many of the transformational changes we are undergoing to better position the AFMS to meet the needs of the Air Force.   We’ve built the network, and are currently reorganizing the surgeon general’s office to better reflect and support the Air Force mission.  I will work with our senior leadership at all levels to ensure we do all we can to train, develop and utilize our enlisted corps entrusted to our care.

“We have many incredibly talented, seasoned chiefs in the AFMS.  I am honored beyond words that Lt Gen. Taylor chose me to lead our medical enlisted force,” said Sarmina. “I look forward to serving him, our enlisted corps, and our Air Force.”