Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico holds relief and appointment ceremony

Photo By Adele Uphaus-Conner | Sgt. Maj. George Sanchez, outgoing sergeant major of Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico, and his replacement, Sgt. Maj. Marc Chabot, stand before MCAF commanding officer Lt. Col. William Pacatte at the Sergeant Major Relief and Appointment Ceremony in the facility hangar June 30 aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico.  

QUANTICO, VA, UNITED STATES

06.30.2016

Story by Adele Uphaus-Conner 

Marine Corps Base Quantico

Marine Corps Air Facility (MCAF) Quantico held a relief and appointment ceremony in its hangar June 30 at which command Sgt. Maj. George Sanchez relinquished his post to Sgt. Maj. Marc Chabot.
Sanchez, who has been at MCAF since September 2013, will retire from the Marine Corps this summer after 30 years in the service. He attended Infantry Training School and deployed to Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He also served as drill instructor and senior drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego. As squadron sergeant major for HMH-461, he participated in a presidential support mission to Ghana in 2008 and was Air Combat Element sergeant major during Operation Organized Response to Haiti in 2010.
Chabot comes to MCAF from Marine Corps Security Force Battalion in Kings Bay, Georgia., where he was battalion sergeant major. He enlisted in 1993 and reported to Assault Amphibian Schools Battalion after recruit training. He deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom I and II and Operation Enduring Freedom 9-2 and 11-1. He served as drill instructor, senior drill instructor, and series chief drill instructor at MCRD San Diego and as a squad instructor and Basic Warrior Training instructor at Drill Instructor School.
Lt. Col. William Pacatte, MCAF commanding officer, praised Sanchez for his leadership and loyalty.
“He’s always thinking about what’s best for his Marines and putting them first,” Pacatte said. “He’s their number one advocate. And he has no problems making the right decision—Marines respect him for that.”
He described Sanchez as a different kind of enforcer and disciplinarian, one who uses a Marine’s mistakes to teach instead of punish the service member.
“He’s dedicated to promoting integrity and character development,” Pacatte said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself in the last year with him.”
Sanchez thanked Pacatte and the MCAF Marines for allowing him to do a good job in his final Marine Corps billet. He compared the command sergeant major’s job to that of a sculptor who is continually chipping away at his creation to make it as perfect as possible.
“A sergeant major is mostly concerned with character. He wants his Marines to be of character and to be resilient,” Sanchez said. “And MCAF is resilient. You are relevant! You’ve been here 99 years. You may be a small sculpture, but you’re one of the oldest here.”
He said that Chabot would continue to make MCAF even more relevant to the Marine Corps as a whole.
To Chabot, Sanchez said, “You’re the man for the job. You’re faster and better looking than me!”
He said that MCAF’s small size meant that Chabot would have a chance to personally influence the life and career of every Marine in the command.
Chabot’s remarks were simple.
“I don’t take leadership lightly,” he said.
He also said he is looking forward to his time at Quantico.
“Let me tell you, spend 37 months on a submarine base and you will love Quantico,” he said. “I’m happy to be here.”

• Date Taken: 06.30.2016
• Date Posted: 07.08.2016 14:13
• Story ID: 203439
• Location: QUANTICO, VA, US
• Hometown: NORTH ATTLEBORO, MA, US