COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — In a Colorado Regional Training Institute conference room, Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Mitchell Brush gathered with other senior enlisted leaders to discuss the way forward for the National Guard and to build relationships - it would be a fitting end to an era.
The two-day training at Fort Carson would be Brush's last as the fourth senior enlisted advisor to the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Relationships, observed the Chief, are essential to success.
"I wanted to make sure to stay connected to the field," Brush said as he recalled his interview with then-chief of the National Guard Bureau, Army Gen. Frank Grass. "I wanted to have good relationships with the states. If they had problems, they could use me as a conduit."
Throughout his four-year tenure, Brush visited National Guard members at home and abroad to stay connected to the field. He saw the varying capabilities and built relationships with counterparts.
"Every time I got out to the field, every time I got a chance to go see a state or a country, I heard truly amazing stories from our people," Brush said.
"Whether it's fighting a war, defending the homeland or building partnerships within our communities, we ask a lot of our service members. I'm in awe every single day of the people who come to our force, why they come to our force, and why they stay."
Representing Army and Air National Guard interests as the Guard's top enlisted member was not without its challenges, he noted.
"It was a fast and furious four years," Brush said, "but things have improved, in part, because of the great relationships I've been able to build with the chief master sergeant of the Air Force and sergeant major of the Army."
As he steps into his next role as New Mexico National Guard's senior enlisted leader, Brush was grateful to his wife, Blaire, and their sons for their support. He hopes he has left the position in a better place for his successor.
"Being the enlisted representative for the National Guard was the most awesome thing that I take away," he said. "I hope I pushed the football another five yards down the field."
Family, peers, supporters and friends gathered April 28 at the Herbert Temple Army National Guard Readiness Center in Arlington, Virginia, to celebrate Brush's tenure as the SEA.
"This is a thank you and a farewell to a great Airman," said Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau. "I saw Mitch go around the enterprise, go around the world, to see our Soldiers and Airmen who are deployed," adding that it was senior noncommissioned officers, like Brush, who were the game changers for the National Guard.
Lengyel thanked Brush for his service on behalf of the 450,000 men and women he represented and described his ongoing path.
"You will continue your role as a leader and mentor and make us a better National Guard," Lengyel said.
Editor's Note: Chief Master Sgt. Brush's predecessors were Army Sgt. Maj. John Leonard, Army Sgt. Maj. David Hudson and Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Denise Jelinski-Hall.