Chief Master Sergeant Paul L. Hammer III serves as the Command Chief, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. The wing is comprised of 4 groups and 22 squadrons with 7,000 active-duty and civilian members as well as 15,000 dependents and retirees. He is the primary advisor to the Wing Commander on all matters affecting mission readiness, morale, quality of life, utilization, health and welfare of the Wing. The 4th Fighter Wing is home to 94 F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft assigned to two operational and two training fighter squadrons, flying more than 12,000 sorties and 20,000 hours per year. Chief Hammer is a vital liaison between the installation and the local community in order to strengthen community relations and ensure diverse opportunities for Team Seymour families.
Chief Hammer grew up in Storrs, Connecticut and enlisted in the Air Force in December of 1997 as a Fuels Distribution Apprentice. After completing technical training at Sheppard Air Force Base, he was assigned to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. Since then he has been stationed at several bases all over the world and has been on several different deployments, most notably as a Forward Area Refueling Point Specialist, flying 345 combat sorties on MC-130H aircraft, supporting Iraqi Special Forces with the Combined Joint Special Operations Command Central out of Joint Base Ballad, Iraq. Prior to this assignment, he served as the Senior Enlisted Leader, 7th Mission Support Group, Dyess Air Force Base Texas.
Chief Hammer is blessed with a happy and healthy marriage and they have four beautiful children.
EDUCATION
2002 Airmen Leadership School, Travis Air Force Base (AFB), CA
2009 Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Kadena Air Base (AB), Japan
2011 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education, by distance learning
2011 Associate Degree, Logistics Management, Community College of the Air Force
2012 Air Force Professional Manager’s Certificate, Community College of the Air Force
2013 Undergraduate Certificate in Military Leadership, American Military University, Charlestown, WV
2016 Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell AFB Gunter Annex, AL
2017 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education II, by distance learning
2017 Bachelor of Science Degree in Sports and Health Sciences, American Military University, Charlestown, WV 2020 Master of Science Degree in Sports and Health Sciences, American Military University, Charlestown, WV 2020 Next Jump Leadership Academy, Boston, MA
2020 Graduate Certificate in High-Performance Leadership, Cornell University, Ithica, NY
2020 Graduate Certificate in Executive Leadership, Cornell University, Ithica, NY
2022 Air Force Chief Leadership Course, Maxwell AFB Gunter Annex, AL
2022 Resilience-Building Leadership Professional Trainer, by distance learning
ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 1998 – May 2000, Fuels Distribution Apprentice, 100th Supply Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, UK
2. May 2000 – October 2002, Fuels Resource Controller, 60th Supply Squadron, Travis AFB, CA (Nov 2000 - Feb 2001, Hydrant System Operator, Incirlik AB, Turkey)
3. October 2002 – November 2003, Fuels Distribution Specialist, 60th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Travis AFB, CA (Oct 2002 - May 2003, Mobile Distribution Supervisor, Manas AB, Kyrgyz Republic)
4. November 2003 – February 2005, Fuels Resource Controller, 60th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Travis AFB, CA
5. February 2005 – January 2008, Fuels Bulk Supervisor, 60th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Travis AFB, CA
6. January 2008 – April 2010, Noncommissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC), Fuels Support, 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Kadena AB, JP
7. April 2010 – March 2011, Program Manager, Forward Area Refueling Team, 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Kadena AB, JP (Sep 2010 - Jan 2011, Forward Area Refueling Point Specialist, Joint Base Balad, Iraq)
8. March 2011 – February 2012, NCOIC, Fuels Facilities, 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Kadena AB, JP
9. February 2012 – May 2012, NCOIC, Fuels Service Center, 51st Logistics Readiness Squadron, Osan AB, RoK
10. May 2012 – March 2013, Section Chief, Fuels Information Service Center, 51st Logistics Readiness Squadron, Osan AB, RoK
11. March 2013 – July 2014, Section Chief, Fuels Operations, 97th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Altus AFB, OK
12. July 2014 – July 2015, Superintendent, Fuels Flight, 97th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Altus AFB, OK
13. July 2015 – July 2018, Superintendent, Fuels Flight, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, UK
14. July 2018 – May 2020, Superintendent, Fuels Flight, 354th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Eielson AFB, AK
15. May 2020 – October 2020, Director, Command and Control Operations, 354th Fighter Wing, Eielson AFB, AK
16. October 2020 – January 2022, Chief, Human Capital Strategy, Tesseract, Headquarters United States Air Force, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
17. January 2022 – March 2023, Senior Enlisted Leader, 7th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Dyess AFB, TX (May 2022 - Jun 2022, Senior Enlisted Leader, 7th Medical Group)
18. March 2023 – April 2024, Senior Enlisted Leader, 7th Mission Support Group, Dyess AFB, TX (Apr 2023 - May 2023, Acting Command Chief, 7th Bomb Wing)
19. April 2024 – Present, Command Chief Master Sergeant, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with one silver leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2002 Distinguished Graduate, Airmen Leadership School
2009 John L. Levitow Award, Noncommissioned Officer Academy
2012 Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, 51st Fighter Wing
2016 Distinguished Graduate, Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy 2016 Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, 100th Air Refueling Wing 2019 Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, 354th Mission Support Group
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Chief Master Sergeant 1 July 2021
(CURRENT AS OF April 2024)