Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Randall “Rand” Kuenzi visits the site
where his uncle, Otto Kuenzi, is buried at the Henri-Chapelle
American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium. Army Sgt. Otto Kuenzi was
one of several Swiss-American brothers who served in the U.S.
military in World War II and the only one of the brothers who did
not come home. In honor of his uncle who was killed Sept. 4, 1944,
Kuenzi had two retirement flags flown over the U.S. Capitol, Sept.
4, 2011 the 67th anniversary of his uncle's death. One of the flags
will be presented to Rand's father, who served in the Wisconsin
National Guard. Courtesy Photo
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FORT LEE, Va. (10/25/2011) - Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Randall
“Rand” Kuenzi has a clear image in his mind of what military
heritage means to him.
While serving as the Defense Contract
Management Agency International's senior enlisted advisor and
superintendent of aircraft operations, Kuenzi and two of his fellow
government ground representatives visited the Henri-Chapelle
American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium. That cemetery is where
his uncle, Army Sgt. Otto Kuenzi, was buried after being killed
Sept. 4, 1944. Otto Kuenzi was one of several Swiss-American
brothers who served in the U.S. military in World War II and the
only one of the brothers who did not come home.
Overwhelmed
by the cemetery's pastoral setting, Kuenzi vividly remembers seeing
his uncle's grave and walking through the cemetery that day. The
experience left a lasting impression about the commitment he and
others have made to serve and defend their country.
The
military tradition of “passing the torch” to the next generation of
those in uniform is especially poignant to Kuenzi as he culminates
his two-year DCMA tour and his Air Force career, which spanned a
quarter of a century.
In a recent ceremony at DCMA
headquarters recognizing Kuenzi's service to the agency and the
nation, Navy Rear Adm. Robert Gilbeau, DCMA |
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International commander, presented him with the defense meritorious
service medal. |
As DCMAI personnel witnessed the award presentation,
Gilbeau spoke about how Kuenzi's military service “has
protected us and kept us safe and kept our families safe.
We've only got to see him for two of those 25 years but
they've been two great years.”
Gilbeau personally
thanked Kuenzi for his efforts in the recent DCMA
headquarters move and said, “It just exemplifies what he's
done throughout his career. We appreciate what he has done
here at DCMA as well as signifying the fact that he's had a
very, very fruitful and distinguished 25 years of service.”
While at DCMA, Kuenzi was responsible for ensuring
quality military aircraft were delivered safely from
contractor operations overseas to U.S. military and foreign
allies.
He spearheaded a reorganization of manpower
between theaters to enhance resource flexibility while
directly advising seven field commanders on policy and
programs involving more than 200 joint military personnel.
“When I got to DCMA, I realized people are people no
matter where you go. It doesn't matter where you work – on a
completely joint team, a one-service team, predominantly
civilians, predominantly military. It is people to people
that gets the mission done, and it is people to people
synergy that gets it done in the best possible way,” Kuenzi
said.
Charged with the professional development of
18 joint enlisted aircraft operations personnel, he
established a training and mentoring process to ensure new
personnel were prepared for their duties. As a result, 80
percent of the directorate's aircraft operations sites
received highest marks during headquarters level
inspections.
“I always think your strength is in
your people. If you don't see yourself as a strong piece of
that people puzzle, it leads to even more frustration.”
Kuenzi said as a team player, “sometimes I'm the member on
the team and sometimes I'm the team leader.”
Kuenzi's can-do attitude and action-oriented perseverance
have stood him in good stead throughout his Air Force
career.
“That's the farm kid in me who ‘got' groomed
and grew up and went to aircraft maintenance,” said the New
Glarus, Wis., native. “In aircraft maintenance, failure is
not an option. Success is the only accepted outcome.”
He credits his “grooming and growth” to the people he
encountered throughout his military career. “I felt like
each person was brought into my path for a reason.”
Kuenzi said he looked at each encounter not in the classic
networking sense but how it could help him bring more to the
mission.
"Basically, I squeezed every relationship
as hard as I could to get every drop of opportunity and
growth, and even faith, out of it,” he said. “Life is a
two-sided coin. For every issue you have, there's a
solution.”
His work ethic and philosophy are
tempered by humor and humility. “I truly believe if you're
not having fun doing what you're doing, then you need a new
attitude or you need a new office location or maybe you're
not the right person to be doing what you've been asked to
do,” he said. “When it comes to having fun, I've always been
an instigator and a coordinator.”
Kuenzi's sense of
humor begins with himself. “I treat every day like my own
personal roast,” he said. “If you can laugh at yourself, you
can overcome so many other issues. Ego does not get in the
way of the person who roasts themselves every day.
“Humility plays a huge part in having fun and enjoying the
mission you've been tasked with. As a professional, I look
at it as not just a mission, it's my calling,” he said.
Reflecting on his 25 years of military service, Kuenzi
said, “I'm just so proud to have served with all these
people and especially my military compadres. It's an honor
to serve. I'm retiring after a very fruitful career. I
wouldn't change a thing. Ten years from now I will look back
and say I did exactly what I was supposed to do.”
By Jo Adail Stephenson
Defense Contract Management Agency
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2011
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