Chief master sergeant completes 40 years of service to country
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE — Air Force Reserve Chief Master Sgt. Donald Tarrance, 327th Airlift Squadron superintendent, who had completed 40 years of service, retired June 5 after his final flying mission.
Tarrance’s career comes to a close with more than 9,450 flying hours in the C-9A, C-130E/H/J model aircraft. This has been a unique chapter in his career, considering that he started it in 1980 as part of the 20th Special Force Group, Airborne, as an operations analyst in the Alabama Army National Guard.
“I was attending the University of Alabama, and money was running low,” Tarrance said. “There was a Special Forces Group in Birmingham, and I wanted a challenge. Joining that group provided a signing bonus.”
Tarrance said his signing bonus helped him with the costs associated with college.
“I always said I would quit when it stopped being fun; it never did,” Tarrance said.
As an aeromedical evacuation technician, he provided en route care to patients as they were transported to medical facilities. From that opportunity, he discovered a passion for flying and pursued options to become a loadmaster.
“To me, being a chief in the loadmaster career field is the ultimate honor. I get to do every day what the youngest and newest airmen do. I’ve traveled to every continent except Antarctica,” Tarrance said. “I enjoy the challenge of getting the mission accomplished with limited resources, and I get to fly with great people.”
As a loadmaster, Tarrance ensured the safety of the cargo and passengers for each flight. Over his career, he supported more than 18 deployed operations and several humanitarian relief missions.
“My most memorable mission was that while deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, I was part of a mission that repatriated battlefield casualties,” Tarrance said. “I remember every name, location and circumstance of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
“He truly cares for each person in the unit, regardless of rank,” Capt. Jonathan
Leslie, 327 AS pilot, said of Tarrance. “He has no problem stopping what he is doing to help someone in need. Also, he has a depth of military-history knowledge that cannot be rivaled.”
Tarrance’s career will come full circle, as he will mold the next generation of airmen as an Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps instructor in his home state of Alabama.