{"id":7707,"date":"2022-08-04T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-04T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=7707"},"modified":"2022-08-30T17:42:09","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T17:42:09","slug":"maryland-national-guard-selects-next-senior-enlisted-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2022\/08\/04\/maryland-national-guard-selects-next-senior-enlisted-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland National Guard Selects Next Senior Enlisted Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Sims, Maryland Air National Guard state command chief, speaks with Airmen at the Additional Duty First Sergeant’s Course at Warfield Air National Guard Base at Martin State Airport in Middle River, Maryland, August 4, 2022. Chief Sims currently serves as the 12th Maryland Air National Guard state command chief and will assume the role of Maryland National Guard senior enlisted leader on August 15. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Chris Schepers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the second time an Air National Guard Airman has been named as the next senior enlisted leader of the Maryland National Guard.

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Sims will officially assume the role of MDNG Command Senior Enlisted Leader from U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Perlisa Wilson, who is retiring after 32 years of service.

\u201cServing as the command senior enlisted leader for the past three and a half years has been a tremendously wonderful opportunity and although, for me, retiring and moving on to the next chapter of my life is bittersweet,\u201d said Wilson. \u201cThe sweet part is knowing that the person coming in behind me is fully capable and ready for this position. He was selected because one, he has prepared himself, and two, because he has the experience, knowledge, passion, and empathy to take care of all of our Soldiers and Airmen.\u201d

Sims’ primary role will be to advise U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Gowen, adjutant general for Maryland, on all enlisted matters involving members of the Maryland Army and Air National Guard.

\u201cChief Sims has a proven track record of leadership at the flight, squadron, group, and wing levels, and he most recently completed an exceptionally successful tour as the Maryland Air National Guard state command chief,\u201d said Gowen. \u201cI can\u2019t think of anyone more qualified to serve as our state\u2019s senior enlisted leader.\u201d

As the 12th State Command Chief for the Maryland Air National Guard, Sims is the personal advisor to the assistant adjutant general – Air for the state of Maryland concerning training, readiness, morale and welfare, proper utilization, and the professional development of more than 1,400 Airmen.

\u201cFor me it has always been about serving the men and women of the Maryland Air National Guard and making sure that I am affording them opportunities to grow and doing everything in my power to make the Maryland Air National Guard a better place for everyone,\u201d said Sims. \u201cIt\u2019s not about me, as I am here for just a moment in time, so I want to make sure I reach out and impact as many people as possible and empower and inspire people to do bigger and better things.”

Sims joined the Air Force in 1990 and has held many positions that have helped prepare him for his role as senior enlisted leader. He has served in numerous leadership roles throughout all levels while assigned to the 175th Wing and 175th Maintenance Group and as a Group and Wing First Sergeant.

Sims\u2019 extensive background includes several active duty Air Force positions, including a special duty assignment to Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., during which he was assigned to the Air Force Honor Guard as a pallbearer and instructor. After joining the Maryland Air National Guard\u2019s 175th Wing, he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve.

\u201cIf I\u2019ve learned anything in my career it is to learn to be comfortable with the uncomfortable,\u201d said Sims. \u201cWe are always faced with different and unique challenges and we aren\u2019t always going to be the expert or the smartest person on the topic but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t make informed decisions and I\u2019ve learned that sometimes the best way to take on challenges is to meet them head on.\u201d

Prior to his current assignment, Chief Sims served as the 175th Operations Group Superintendent. As the superintendent he was responsible for providing advice and supporting the wing and squadron leadership on manpower issues, training, professional development, readiness, morale and welfare and discipline issues for the 175th Operations Group.

The change of responsibility ceremony, which is scheduled for October 1, is a traditional event with rich military traditions and heritage. Similar to a change of command ceremony, the change of responsibility serves the dual function of rendering honors to the departing senior enlisted leader and providing official recognition of the transfer of responsibility to the incoming senior enlisted leader.

\u201cI am humbled and honored and it is truly a privilege to be selected as the next Maryland National Guard Senior Enlisted Leader,\u201d said Sims. \u201cTo lead the Soldiers and Airmen of the Maryland National Guard is an amazing task and I will give everything within me to continue the legacy of those that have come before me and will continue representing the Maryland National Guard at the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the second time an Air National Guard Airman has been named as the next senior enlisted leader of the Maryland National Guard.<\/p>\n

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Sims will officially assume the role of MDNG Command Senior Enlisted Leader from U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Perlisa Wilson, who is retiring after 32 years of service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":7712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7707"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7768,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7707\/revisions\/7768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}