Tellis retires after more than 38 years of service in Air Force, Air Guard

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Annaliese Billings
  • 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --  Chief Master Sergeant Chris Tellis, senior enlisted leader for the 123rd Contingency Response Group, retired from military service during a ceremony at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base here June 7, concluding a career spanning more than 38 years.

Brig. Gen. Bruce Bancroft, Kentucky’s assistant adjutant general for Air, commended Tellis for “a career you can definitely hang your hat on” before a crowd of family, friends and colleagues in the Base Annex.

“Chris and I spent nearly a decade serving together in the CRG,” Bancroft said. “We traveled the world and served in locations neither of us would want to return to again. We built countless tents together in 100-degree temperatures, worked 20-hour days in the field, and have likely seen one another at our best and maybe at our worst. We had plenty of great trips as well, but the hard times are the ones you remember.

“That’s the kind of person you want with you downrange — 100 percent competent in their job with the ability to keep it light, fun and make the hard times a little more bearable.”

Bancroft also spoke highly of Tellis’ adaptability.

“One thing is for certain: Chris is the type of person you could plug into just about any position, and your team would be better and closer because of it.

“Chris, thank you for everything you’ve done to make the 123rd Airlift Wing the best in the Air Force. Be proud of the time you spent, the lives you touched and the positive impact you’ve made on those around you.”

Tellis began his military service in the security police career field, where he was selected to serve with Strategic Air Command’s elite guard. He left active duty after three years to begin a career in the Kentucky Air National Guard, cross-training as a personnel specialist. He later served as chief of personnel records and customer service, where he brought systems such as the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System and Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System online for the first time.

Following a deployment to Europe in support of Operation Joint Forge, Tellis was selected as a production recruiter, and he completed recruiting school as a distinguished graduate. He returned to the mission support group five years later as NCOIC of relocations and separations. In 2009, Tellis was selected to serve as NCOIC for commander support staff in the newly created CRG, where he ultimately cross-trained into the aerial port career field and served as the squadron’s full-time superintendent before taking on the role of senior enlisted leader.

Throughout his career, Tellis supported numerous deployments, including Silver Flag and Operation Joint Guard. He also deployed for multiple humanitarian-assistance and disaster-response missions, including Operation Unified Response, supporting earthquake-relief efforts in Haiti; and Operation United Assistance, the multinational response to the Ebola crisis in West Affica.

As the ceremony concluded, Tellis took the stage to give his final remarks.

“When people ask me what I will be doing in retirement, the answer is becoming more and more clear to me. I want to give every moment I have left on this Earth to my family. We are far more irreplaceable to our families than we are to our vocation.”

As military leaders, Tellis told the audience, “our charge is to do the absolute best we can, with a gracious and humble attitude, for the men and women under our charge at every step, whether easy or difficult. I’m quickly reminded of the mostly positive, energetic, loyal, passionate and genuinely kind people who have served alongside me. And I realize I had it good, and this place remains in good hands.

“It has been my greatest honor and privilege to serve with all of you,” Tellis added, reflecting on more than three decades of military service. “This place, these people and this organization received the best ‘Chris Tellis’ I had to offer.”