Richard D. Kisling (November 22, 1923 – November 3, 1985) was a senior airman of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

who served as the 3rd

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force ( acronym: CMSAF) is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Air Force. The holder of this rank and position of office represents the highest enlisted level of leadership in the Air Forc ...

from 1971 to 1973. Richard Kislimg served in the US Army from 1944 to 47.

Military career

Kisling entered the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in July 1944 and served overseas in the European area of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with the 3rd Infantry Division and 88th Infantry Division. In April 1947, he re-enlisted in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

and was assigned to the Mobile Training Unit,

Chanute Field Chanute may refer to: * Chanute, Kansas, United States ** Chanute High School * Octave Chanute (1832–1910), American civil engineer and aviation pioneer * Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois, United States * Octave Chanute Award, awarded by the West ...

, Illinois. When the

became a separate military service in 1947, he transferred to the Air Force and was in the personnel field during most of his subsequent career. In May 1948, he transferred to

Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

, California, where he served as a personnel clerk, enlisted branch, Headquarters 4th Air Force. He was assigned to the 1261st Air Transport Squadron,

Tripoli, Libya Tripoli (; ar, طرابلس الغرب, translit= Ṭarābulus al-Gharb , translation=Western Tripoli) is the capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.1 million people in 2019. It is located in the northwest of Libya o ...

, in April 1950 and served as first sergeant. Kisling returned to the United States in April 1952 and was assigned as first sergeant of the 1707th Food Service Squadron,

Palm Beach International Airport Palm Beach International Airport is a public airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, located just west of the city of West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, which it serves as the primary airport for. It is also the primary airport for most of ...

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. In October 1952 he transferred to

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Co ...

, as first sergeant and personnel sergeant major with the 1739th Ferrying Squadron. In February 1954, Kisling was assigned to the Southwest Recruiting District, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He became sergeant major of the 3504th United States Air Force Recruiting Group, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas in May 1954. In 1956 he was selected as the Outstanding Support Airman of the Year for Air Force Recruiting Service. Kisling was sent to Chaumont, France, in August 1956 as base personnel sergeant major, 48th Tactical Fighter Wing. In August 1959 he became base personnel sergeant major at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and he was promoted to chief master sergeant on December 1, 1959. He was selected as the Outstanding Airman of the Year for 12th Air Force in 1960. He transferred to March Air Force Base, California, in August 1961 for duty as Tactical Air Command personnel adviser to the 452nd Troop Carrier Wing of the Air Force Reserve. He was assigned as base personnel sergeant major at George Air Force Base, Calif., in September 1962. In August 1963, Kisling joined the United States Air Force Security Service as personnel sergeant major, European Security Region, Frankfurt,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. In May 1967 he became noncommissioned officer in charge, programs and requirements division, deputy chief of staff, personnel, Headquarters Air Force Security Service, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas. He was selected as the senior airman adviser, Air Force Security Service in September 1969. Kisling became

on October 1, 1971. In this role he was adviser to

Secretary of the Air Force A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

Robert C. Seamans Jr. Robert Channing Seamans Jr. (October 30, 1918 – June 28, 2008) was an MIT professor who served as NASA Deputy Administrator and 9th United States Secretary of the Air Force. Birth and education He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, to Pauline ...

and Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General

John D. Ryan John or Johnny Ryan may refer to: Business *John Ryan (businessman) (born 1950), pioneer of cosmetic surgery and chairman of Doncaster Rovers *John D. Ryan (industrialist) (1864–1933), American copper mining magnate *John Ryan (printer) (1761� ...

, on matters concerning welfare, effective utilization and progress of the enlisted members of the Air Force. He was the third chief master sergeant appointed to this top noncommissioned officer position. Kisling retired from the Air Force on September 30, 1973.

Later life

Upon his retirement, Kisling continued serving the Air Force as a civil servant, assigned to the Air Staff. He served on the staff of the deputy chief of staff, personnel, from April 1975 through October 1982, and with the staff of the deputy chief of staff, administration, from November 1982 until his retirement from civil service on May 20, 1985. He was awarded the Exceptional Civilian Service Award in May 1985. Kisling died November 3, 1985, at Malcolm Grow Medical Center,

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, as a result of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. His contributions and dedicated service to the Air Force and country spanned more than 40 years—as a leader, a spokesperson and a great friend of the enlisted corps. In 2004, Kisling Community Center at

Lackland Air Force Base Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of the city of S ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

was dedicated to Kisling.Kisling Community Center at Lackland AFB 802 FSS website
/ref> The Kisling Noncommisioned Officers Academy located in Vogelweh, Germany is also named after him.

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kisling, Richard United States Army personnel of World War II Chief Master Sergeants of the United States Air Force 1985 deaths People from Mapleton, Iowa 1923 births United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army soldiers Neurological disease deaths in Maryland Deaths from motor neuron disease in the United States