[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6449]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


RECOGNIZING CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT BRIAN L. ZATOR'S THIRTY-TWO YEARS OF 
      SERVICE IN THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE AND AIR FORCE RESERVE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TIM MURPHY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 17, 2016

  Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Citizen 
Airman Chief Master Sergeant Brian L. Zator upon the occasion of his 
retirement after 32 years of honorable service to our great Nation in 
the United States Air Force and Air Force Reserve.
  Chief Zator was born on April 8, 1966, in Morgantown, West Virginia. 
He graduated from Saint Francis High School in Morgantown in 1984 and 
entered the Air Force in July that year. Upon graduation of 
Administration Management Specialist Course, he was assigned to the 
62nd Air Base Group and then to the 446th Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, 
Washington, from 1984 to 1989, as an Administrative Specialist. In June 
1989, he transitioned from the Air Force to the Air Force Reserve, 
joining the 911th Civil Engineer Squadron, Detachment Number 1, 
Morgantown, West Virginia as the Non-Commissioned Officer in charge 
(NCOIC), Management Assistant, of the Orderly Room. Then, in August 
1991, he became an Air Reserve Technician, a dual hatted Citizen 
Airman, serving the Air Force Reserve Command as a Civil Servant during 
the week and again serving the Air Force Reserve Command as a member of 
the uniformed service during the weekends and whenever the nation 
called upon him with the 911th Airlift Wing, Civil Engineer Squadron, 
Pittsburgh International Airport, Air Reserve Station, Coraopolis, 
Pennsylvania. In 1995, he was promoted to the grade of Master Sergeant, 
taking on an active leadership role within the 911th Airlift Wing and 
within the Air Force Reserve Command. In 1997, he was selected as the 
winner of the Air Force Reserve Command Outstanding Civil Engineering 
Air Reserve Technician of the year award. That same year he was a 
member of the Air Force Reserve Command Outstanding Civil Engineering 
Squadron of the Year. In 1998, he alone was selected from thousands of 
his peers within the state, as the winner of the Air Force Association 
Outstanding Reservist Award for Pennsylvania.
  In October 1999, he transitioned careers, both civilian and military, 
into the Financial Management career field. From October 1999 through 
October 2006, he was the Financial Management Superintendent as an Air 
Reserve Technician with the 911th Airlift Wing. In 2000, he again was 
promoted, this time to the grade of Senior Master Sergeant. Chief Zator 
was clearly being recognized by leadership within the Air Force Reserve 
Command for his abilities to assume additional responsibility and to 
lead within the 911th Airlift Wing. In 2001, he was again individually 
selected from thousands of his peers within the state as the winner of 
the Air Force Association Outstanding Reservist Award for Pennsylvania. 
In 2003, he was selected as the winner of the Air Force Reserve Command 
Financial Services Civilian of the Year award, and in 2004 he was 
selected as the winner of the 911th Airlift Wing Senior Noncommissioned 
Officer of the Year award. In 2005, he deployed to the 496th Air Base 
Group, Moron Air Base, Spain as a Deployed Paying Agent. That same 
year, and again in 2006, he was selected as the winner of the Air Force 
Reserve Command Financial Management Enlisted Superintendent of the 
Year award and the winner of the 2006, 911th Airlift Wing Civilian of 
the Year award. In 2006, he was promoted to the highest enlisted rank 
within the Air Force, Chief Master Sergeant. As a Chief Master 
Sergeant, one assumes responsibilities for all enlisted troops and 
serves as a guide and mentor for junior personnel, officer and 
enlisted, alike.
  In November 2006 through January 2013, he served as the Chief of 
Financial Management for the 911th Airlift Wing. During that time, in 
2007 and again in 2008, he was selected as the winner of the Air Force 
Reserve Command Comptroller Organization of the Year award, and in 
2009, he was selected as the winner of the Air Force Reserve Command 
James E. Short Award for Outstanding Mentorship and Career Development. 
Then, in 2011, he was selected as the winner of the Air Force Reserve 
Command Financial Management Enlisted Superintendent of the Year and 
the winner of the 2011 Defense Finance and Accounting Service-
Limestone's Partnership for Success Award. From January 2013 through 
September 2016, in Chief Zator's final military role within the Air 
Force Reserve, he was hand selected to be the Command Chief of the 
911th Airlift Wing, Pittsburgh International Airport, Air Reserve 
Station, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. During this time, Chief Zator served 
as the Wing Commanders' senior enlisted advisor on matters concerning 
troop welfare, effective utilization, and progress of the enlisted 
members of the 911th Airlift Wing. As an example of the work Chief 
Zator did on behalf of the 911th Airlift Wing, he went about forging 
partnerships with local educational institutions resulting in college 
level courses being taught at the 911th Airlift Wing. His vision came 
to fruition in January 2014, when the 911th Airlift Wing partnered with 
Robert Morris University and started teaching eight week General 
Education courses. These courses were part of the initiative to meet 
the forthcoming requirements for enlisted military personnel to have a 
Community College of the Air Force Associates Degree for consideration 
for promotion to Senior Master Sergeant and Chief Master Sergeant. 
Since this partnership, the 911th Airlift Wing has presented over 150 
Community College of the Air Force Associate degrees to its members. 
The 911th Airlift Wing has gone from not being ranked in the top 25 
percent of Community College of the Air Force Associates Degree 
graduates to being ranked Number 8 in 2014 to being ranked Number 2 in 
2015 within the Air Force Reserve.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress and a grateful 
Nation, I extend our deepest appreciation to Chief Master Sergeant 
Brian Zator for his many years of dedicated service. There is no 
question that the Air Force, Department of Defense, and the United 
States benefitted greatly from Chief Zator's visionary leadership, 
planning, and foresight, and we wish him and his wife, Lorie, and his 
son Nicolas, the very best.

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