30 years: The Craver story

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chuck Broadway
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  It's said that sports are games of inches ... Small bits of space, land or air that change the entire course of the game and the lives of those who play it. Whether it's a touchdown pass that soars a half-inch from a receiver's hands, a baseball landing just outside the chalk of a foul line or a runner edging out the competition to win a gold medal by hundredths of a second, the smallest of measurements can be life changing.

Many sports fans often refer to the "game of inches" phrase when reflecting on their lives. For one Ohio sports fan in particular, his entire life changed with .03 of a point, redirecting his life as a college student to become an Airman and after 30 years of service, retire as a chief master sergeant.

A farm boy from the small town of Milford, Ohio, Chief Master Sgt. Jeffrey Craver, 4th Fighter Wing command chief, always aspired to graduate from college and work in the civilian workforce. He saved enough money to fund one year of college and before his sophomore year, earned a merit scholarship to finance the remaining years. In order to keep his scholarship, he had to maintain a 3.0 grade point average. However, bad choices and poor prioritization through the coming months dropped his GPA to a 2.97, .03 points below the cutoff and, without any financial backing, ended his college tenure.

"It was really discouraging," Craver said. "I worked a couple of odd jobs to try and find a path back to school. I made some poor decisions and wanted to get back on my own accord."

Discouraged but determined, Craver, with advice from his father, found his way to an Air Force recruiter's office. With the goal of qualifying for the G.I. Bill, the 23-year old casually told the recruiter, "I'll give you four years."

That was March 1986.

Now, 30 years later, Craver will retire following a stint as command chief at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.

"I'm walking away after 30 years with a lifetime of experience and memories," he said. "I've got my education under my belt and it's afforded me a pretty good lifestyle."

That lifestyle took him all over the world as he spent 23 of his 30 years overseas in places like Korea, Japan, Italy, Canada and his first duty assignment in Germany where he met his wife Kelley. Together, they raised a family of three daughters, Jessie, Sarah and Cheryl, and traveled the world, taking advantage of opportunities afforded to them with each duty assignment to meet people and make memories.

"I feel that military experience as a whole has truly shaped who we are today," Kelley said. "His career took our family overseas for [most years] out of his 30. Being immersed in all of those different cultures is an experience that not many families get to share. It taught us to value time over anything else - appreciating the time we had with our extended family in America while also taking advantage of the time we had to explore the world."

The chief shared his wife's sentiment and said the Air Force gives everyone a lot of opportunities, the decision and motivation is on the individual to go out and be successful. Through the years, the Cravers said they met so many different types of people, making them better citizens and for the chief, allowed him to 'grow up.'

Craver said he's 'grown up' wearing the Air Force uniform. Upon enlisting, he gained a new family and saw his growth begin during basic training at then Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

"The first time you put that uniform on, it was incredible the reaction of everyone," he recalled. "People were standing a little bit taller. That feeling of being part of an organization that's bigger than yourself, that has a tremendous mission is just incredible."

From that first moment of uniformity, Craver said the sense of community and the bond he felt was addicting and formed an inherent trust amongst members of the Air Force family. Throughout his career, Kelley said he's still the same man she met so many years ago in Germany.

"What drew me to him was his character," she said. "He was thoughtful, caring, helpful, witty ... None of that has changed over the years. Who he is hasn't changed. He has always been the incredible man he is today."

The chief often recounts a story of when he was a freshly minted technical sergeant at Misawa Air Base, Japan as a turning point in his professional growth and cementing the character his wife so proudly proclaims.

Nervously stuck in a meeting full of commanders, chaired by the current wing commander, Craver recalled what was supposed to be a simple update briefing turned into a discussion about the Airmen on the base and how commanders could help those Airmen.

From that point on, he focused even more attention to caring for the Airmen he met, as well as their families and in turn, has received the same from his leadership.
"There were people who deliberately invested in me and gave me opportunities," Craver said. "They were always there to catch me if I fell. I've tried to do that along the way. Airmen sometimes come back and say 'Thanks for being there, thanks for listening.' It's the little things that happen along the way that makes us stronger as a community and as an organization."

Looking back on the past 30 years, the chief said it's bittersweet but he and Kelley are looking forward to new challenges. With a career filled with ups and downs, he said he has no regrets as he has nothing but memories he wants to remember.

"Because of advancements and technology, we'll look back and stay connected with the Air Force family as we reconnect with immediate family we've been separated from," he said. "I'm proud, sad, scared, and anxious. It's a roller coaster of emotions but at the same time, it's time to go and I'm 100 percent assured that when I step aside, someone else will step up. That's what our nation expects us to do and that's what will happen."

With several job leads, the Craver family now points their compass toward Ohio, back where it all began for the once farm boy with college aspirations.

"It's been a fantastic ride," Craver said. "It's been our honor, duty and privilege to serve in this capacity and look forward to what life has next for us."