The senior enlisted leader at the Joint Warfare Analysis Center, Master Sgt. Wilson D. Tart, was chosen the Air Force’s senior non-commissioned officer for 2007 by the U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) in Norfolk, Va, JWAC’s commander, Air Force Col. Matthew H. Molloy, announced.
A Wilmington, N.C. native who joined the Air Force in 1988 in part to escape the poverty of a low-income housing system, Tart was picked from six Air Force NCOs from JFCOM who competed for the annual award. Consideration was given to individuals for leadership, job performance, self-improvement, and community service, all categories in which Tart excelled, according to his citation.
‘‘I felt blessed and highly favored upon hearing of my selection as JFCOM AFELM (Air Force Element) Senior NCO of the Year 2007,” Tart said. ‘‘Hard work, dedication, and commitment along with an outstanding supporting cast were all key ingredients for the selection.”
Raised in a single-parent household in a tough inner-city neighborhood, Tart credits his mother with much of his life-time success, adding that his oldest brother influenced him to join the Air Force after the former’s own seven-year tour.
‘‘My mother’s work ethic inspired me to be the best at anything that I chose to do,” Tart said.
Additionally, Tart also said that a chief master sergeant helped him during a rocky time in his military career. He encouraged me to stay in the Air Force and to harness and use my leadership gifts, Tart said.
‘‘The Air Force has taught me several important lessons in life,” Tart said. ‘‘It’s not where you start or come from in life, it’s how you finish by taking full advantage of opportunities.”
Previously assigned to the Joint Communication Support Element in Tampa, Fla., Tart reported to JWAC in November 2005. In his current job as superintendent of the command’s Joint Military Personnel and Administration, he supports more than 500 military, civilian, and contract employees. He described his dual roles as superintendent and the command’s senior enlisted leader as the biggest challenge of his job, but also ones that provided self-fulfillment and inspired him to see the best in people.
In both regards, Tart’s on-the-job accomplishments are significant. Among specific accomplishments listed in his citation, Tart
Served as the military branch chief for four months in the absence of an officer in charge
Led a Joint Military Manpower Review
Managed nine retirements, including the details to ensure proper benefits
Provided logistical support to civilian analysts and military liaison officers
Revised JWAC’s Military Support Agreements with Andrews Air Force Base, and
Sustained the highest military manning in JWAC’s history.
Previously, Tart has been honored as the Personnel Manager of the Year for USJFCOM for 2007. Nonetheless, he describes his biggest accomplishment to date as being a senior Air Force non-commissioned officer.
In addition to work, Tart volunteers at the Dahlgren School as a basketball coach, at the base Child Development Center with the children’s reading program, and with the annual Relay for Life rally to raise money for cancer research.
In all he does, Tart is guided by his Christian faith, a faith that was first kindled in his childhood and continues to grow in fervor to this day. Anyone hearing Tart speak will quickly grasp the importance that Tart’s relationship to Jesus plays in his life and, although quick to note that he (Tart) is nowhere near to perfection, Jesus ‘‘is still molding and shaping me to become a soldier in his army,” he said.
Tart continues to work to improve himself, another reason he had for joining the Air Force. He recently earned associate degrees in criminal justice and human resources management and administration and will soon earn another degree in business management from National Louis University’s branch campus at Andrews AFB, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average while remaining on active duty. He counts this as another accomplishment of which he is most proud, he said.
Tart intends to stay in the service until at least next year when he becomes eligible for retirement. He hopes to become a command chief master sergeant, but his long-term plans are to become a human resources director for a Fortune 500 company or an internal affairs officer for a big city police department.
Regardless, Tart has come a long way from the mean streets of his youth, but he remains quietly reflective of all he has experienced.
‘‘I struggled a lot in my early life, because I was from a low-income housing background,” Tart said. ‘‘People that were more fortunate viewed me as someone with no self-worth.”
Now, he says that he realizes that it is ‘‘cool to be different,” a lesson that he describes as the hardest life had taught him. Yet, in reaching the awareness that everyone is a child of God, Tart said he had kept his faith and vision to become the best person he could.
‘‘Understanding the concept of the Serenity Prayer has kept me grounded to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference,” Tart said.
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