Career Reflection of a Wing Command Chief

Every morning for nearly 29 years, Chief Master Sgt. Jeffrey L. Steadman has driven toward the same unmistakable Vermont landmark on his way to work: the broad, distinctive profile of Camel’s Hump rising against the sky.

Soon that daily view will belong to someone else. As the command chief master sergeant of the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing, Steadman has spent his career advising wing commanders on everything that touches the enlisted force — organization, training, equipping, morale and the vital work of taking care of Airmen and their families. Now, with retirement approaching, the dairy farm kid from Addison County who never planned to wear chief stripes is taking stock of a life built on two unshakable priorities: his family and the Green Mountain Boys.