Photo By John Hughel | Command Chief Master Sgt. Daniel Conner receives a Certificate of Appreciation from...... read more read more
SALEM, Ore. – Over the past twenty-seven months, Command Chief Master Sgt. Daniel C. Conner has played an essential role as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for the Oregon National Guard and doing so during one of the most challenging periods in the state’s history. As 2022 came to a close, he also concluded his 38-year military career that began as an Aircraft Armament Systems Specialist in 1984.
Serving as the first Air National Guardsman to be named Command Senior Enlisted Leader (CSEL) of the Oregon National Guard, Conner’s tenure came as the COVID-19 pandemic was intensifying around the nation in October 2020. Oregon Guard members were actively supporting Covid testing sites and helping deliver Personal Protective Equipment around the state.
It was also a hectic period for mobilizations for the Oregon National Guard as service members were completing assignments to support wildland firefighting, and by the end of the year, over 200 Oregon Army National soldiers, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment were returning home from Task Force Kosovo, following their 10-month deployment. This was the largest mobilization of Oregon Troops since World War II.
To better connect with the soldiers and airmen across the state, Conner created a monthly podcast to help senior leaders communicate important up-to-date information while many members and civilian staff were still working remotely.
“I am a big fan of podcasts, and decided that this would be a great way to get out a 20 to 40-minute message to our entire Oregon (National Guard) team,” Conner said, when he launched the “Get a Sign” podcast in late 2020. “What I hope is that when someone receives the messages, you can ‘share and then move up the chain,’ more topics that you think are important to soldiers and airmen.”
During his formal retirement ceremony on December 3, 2022, at Camp Withycombe, Maj. Gen. Stencel, Adjutant General, Oregon, recalled this period in late 2020. “I had the opportunity to have him come to Headquarters in Salem, and bring him onboard as my right-hand man on all enlisted matters.”
As the host for Conner’s retirement ceremony, Stencel said one of the key traits for the Command Senior Enlisted Leader, “requires a person to become a strategic thinker, to start thinking long range, and provide criticism to someone senior in rank to them.”
“More than anything, it is to serve as a representative of our entire enlisted force. He’s done a wonderful job and stepped up to all challenges along the way,” Stencel said.
Beginning his retirement ceremony remarks, Conner reflected back -- nearly four decades, while describing how he began his military career.
“My mom, who raised two boys in the Post-Vietnam era, wasn’t too keen on one of her son’s joining the military,” he said, as she was seated in the front row during the ceremony. “But that summer day in 1984, when I came home and told her, “Mom, I joined the United State Air Force today,” - she has exhibited nothing but support and pride ever since that moment.”
After initial training, his active duty career first took him overseas to Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, and later to England Air Force Base, where he maintained F-15 Eagles and A-10 Thunderbolt II, ‘Warthog’ armament systems. By December of 1988, he left active duty and enlisted in the Oregon Air National Guard with the 142nd [Fighter] Wing in Portland.
With a long tenure with 142nd, Conner worked on the F-4 Phantom II, and later as the wing transitioned to the F-15 aircraft in the early 1990s. Leadership positions within his career field soon followed, first as the Munitions Flight Supervisor, then as a unit First Sergeant, Wing Weapons Manager, then to the Equipment Maintenance Flight Superintendent and Maintenance Group Superintendent.
As his career broadened, Conner served for over three years as the 142nd Mission Support Group Superintendent, allowing him a chance to work with wing support staff and the variety of auxiliary career fields in civil engineering, communications, security forces, logistics, environmental, and force support.
This perspective prepared him for taking on the job as the CSEL, working in a joint senior leadership position with the Oregon Army and Air National Guard. As the soldiers and airmen were activated to support over 50 hospitals during the Omicron variant surge in late 2021 and into early 2022, Conner made several site visits around the state, making sure that the nearly 1,500 activated service members had the resources they needed.
He echoed many of these immense experiences during his career as part of his retirement remarks for those in attendance.
“First, it is imperative we accept and embrace our core values, these are values that truly define our institutional union,” he said, recounting the basic tenants of military service. “It’s important to also build quality relationships with those you support -- and those that support you. Quality relationships are the cornerstone to good leadership, and as you should all know; Every Soldier and Every Airman is a leader.”
Conner also reiterated other timeless lessons from his initial training and entry into military service. “While at basic training, I was assigned to the 3701st BMT Squadron. The squadron motto was ``Lead, Follow or Get out of the way.”
The quote, he said has been attributed to “Thomas Payne, Will Rogers, and Lee Iacocca — among others.” But Conner put his own authorship on one modification in his remarks.
“Allow me to make a minor change to this quote and make it mine…Lead, Follow AND...Get out of the way,” he said, empathizing with 'how' this principle has shaped his career. “Choose to leave when some folks still want you around, and some are ready for you to leave. The worst legacy you can leave is overstaying your welcome,” he said.
Although his ceremony was held during the December drill weekend, he still had some projects to finish prior to his last day in uniform on December 31. This included a couple more days in the Public Affairs recording studio, working on his final production podcast “Get a Sign,”, and narrating the 2022 Oregon National Guard Year in Review Video.
“In practice and as expected, we were all leaders. Good leaders are also good followers. And one of our primary objectives from the beginning is to build our bench….or get out of the way.”
| Date Taken: | 12.31.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 01.05.2023 13:04 |
| Story ID: | 436297 |
| Location: | SALEM, OR, US |
| Web Views: | 438 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Oregon National Guard Command Senior Enlisted Leader retires after 38 years of service, by John Hughel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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