WEBVTT

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- The road to success
is not paved in gold.

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It's full of pot holes and obstacles.

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The thing I like the
most about being a leader

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in the Air Force is: you have to earn it.

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You don't wake up one day and you're just

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this awesome leader.

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It's something that's earned

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through blood, sweat, and tears.

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So, my advice to airmen
would be not to give up.

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- I think that Chief Stoltzfus
brings a lot of passion,

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and targeted passion,
towards leading teams

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and leading organizations.

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I think that he brings a lot of experience

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when it comes to not
just being in garrison

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doing the mission at home
station, but also deployed.

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I really think that he brings
a motivation capability

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that is very unique.

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Not every airman has
the motivational skills

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that Chief Stoltzfus has.

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- Leaders need leaders, and
from the day that he showed up,

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he was ready to lead airmen of all kinds.

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Up and down and across the chain.

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He's someone, that me,
just look up to him,

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and has admired him for what he does

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and what he stands for.

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- From your time, when I first met you

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at the Kadena HVAC shop,
you were a staff sergeant.

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Running crews, leading
airmen, helping tech sergeants

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get better, helping master
sergeants get better,

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helping all of us get better.

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I learned from you.

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So, from a young, young
age, those experiences

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that you had at Kadena, those experiences

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that you gained being a first sergeant

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for x amount of years,

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those experiences that you,
performing as a superintendent

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in the ops flight, when
we brought you back to CE,

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all help prepare you for the stripe.

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- I consider Chief Stoltzfus
a very close friend.

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He's a teammate.

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I couldn't think of a
better person to have

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in a leadership team on a squadron.

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He's just someone I greatly respect.

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Not just the fact that he's probably one

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of the nicest people I've ever met

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in my life, but he's never met a stranger.

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I've literally seen him give
the gloves off his hands

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to an airman that needed
them during a cold day.

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- His personality.

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He's funny.

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He's super selfless.

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He's a hard worker.

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He's just really a good person.

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- He is a willing participant
in just about anything you

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wanna go do.

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I think that that approach
to life is very beneficial.

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When you're willing to go
try things, and do things,

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test the boundaries, stretch
yourself a little bit,

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there's a lot of goodness in that.

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I think that he demonstrates
that on a regular basis.

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- He's a firecracker of a man.

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Just ready to get after it.

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He enjoys people.

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He loves airmen.

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He's ready to take care of
any issue that's asked of him.

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- Serve in all directions.

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It's a 360 degree service
that you have to provide.

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24-7.

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You serve up, so you serve your leaders.

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You serve your commander.

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You serve everybody above you.

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The best of your ability.

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You're chartered to give them the truth,

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to tell it like it is,
to fight for your people,

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and to know when you disagree
with their final decision,

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their decision becomes your own,

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and you carry out their
decisions as if your own.

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- So, they are the foundation.

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They're the reason I do what I do.

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My wife, Jessica, is, I would
say, the rock of our family.

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Like I said, I've deployed nine times.

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You can imagine what
kind of stress that is

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for the wife back home
raising two children.

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My oldest boy, Dylan, who's
17, and my youngest boy Aiden,

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who's 15, try to set a
good example for them.

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Not always easy, coming and going.

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Nine deployments, like I said.

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In the house, outta the house, so I know

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it was really rough on them.

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But, they are absolutely my inspiration,

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why I continue to do this.

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- I'm proud of my husband.

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I think he is an amazing
leader, and the young airmen,

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I know they appreciate
him and they love him,

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and that's important to have after being

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in the military for 20-plus years.

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The D-large squadron,
deploying, being here,

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wherever it may be.

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So, I think he's doing good
things, and he will continue

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to do that.

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- We went ice fishing.

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Yes, we did.

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I took him...

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My wife and I took his wife and him

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out on Lake Audubon ice fishing,

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and it was particularly funny
watching the look on her face,

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on Jess' face, as we
drove my truck on the ice.

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And, when her and my wife
got out of the truck,

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they could see the fracturing
that occurs on the ice,

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but that was a fun day.

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- That guy's my best friend.

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Hands down.

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I love him, his family.

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Him and I have been tight at the hip

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since the day he showed up.

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- Chief Stoltzfus, congratulations

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on this huge, huge stripe.

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This is a big, big deal.

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This milestone is not your
last milestone, believe me.

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It might be your last stripe,

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but it won't be your last milestone.

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You have lots of
challenges coming your way,

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and really, the work is just starting now

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with you putting on chief.

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- You know, a wise man once told me

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that attitude is everything.

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I can't think of anybody
that embodies that

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more than Chief Stoltzfus.

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The guy just has a contagious attitude.

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He's a true motivator.

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He means it, he believes it.

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It's who he is.

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The guy is a motivator.

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His attitude is absolutely amazing.

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- Hello Johnston, this is Patrick McCoy

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from Dover, Delaware.

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I would like to congratulate you

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on this monumental
achievement on making chief.

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This is a significant move
forward for you and your family.

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I'm very happy and very humbled
that I had the opportunity

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to tell you "thank you" for
all the hard work you've done

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here at Dover.

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Again, congratulations on making chief.

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Many years to you.

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- Don't screw it up, man.

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Serve our Air Force well and be the chief

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that we all know you can be.

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- Hey, Justin, Minot has
been an incredible base.

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A lot of it is, in part, to
you and what you brought.

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Not just the CE or the MSG,
but really what you brought

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to me.

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I appreciate our friendship.

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I wish you all the best,
especially this winter,

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when you are trying to
snowboard down a mountain.

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Let's not make it third time's a charm.

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I love you, bud.

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Take care of you, take
care of your family,

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take care of our CE family, and bless you.

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- Congratulations.

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This is a huge, huge deal.

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We're mighty proud of you.

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We all knew you would get here one day,

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and you got here really, really quick.

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Wear it with pride, wear it with honor,

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and we look forward to all the challenges

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that's gonna be coming your way.

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That's it, I'm out.

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- Woop, woop, chief!

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On behalf of the entire
wolf family, congratulations

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to you, Jess, Dylan, and Aiden.

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It's been a long journey,
but I'm glad you've

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got a lot more time left.

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Really proud to know you.

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Proud to serve alongside you.

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And congratulations on this
very well-deserved promotion.

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- Justin, I'm so proud of
you and all of your hard work

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and your accomplishments,
all of your sacrifices.

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You continue to take
care of the boys and I,

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and we're just so thankful
for all of your dedication

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and hard work for the family.

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- People are our greatest asset.

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Take care of them, they'll
take care of the mission.

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