Gerald Murray, the 14th chief master sergeant of the Air Force—and shown at center in the photo above—has been elected to succeed former Air Force Secretary F. Whitten Peters as AFA's chairman of the board. AFA photo.
Gerald Murray, the 14th chief master sergeant of the Air Force, will become the next chairman of the Air Force Association on Oct. 1. He replaces F. Whitten Peters, a former Air Force secretary who served as chairman for the past three years.
Murray ran unopposed and was elected without objection. He will be the second former enlisted leader to hold the association’s top volunteer leadership position. The first was James McCoy, who served as chairman from 1994 to 1996.
Also elected or reelected: Mac MacAloon, vice chairman for field operations; Jim Hannam, vice chairman for aerospace education; Rick Hartle, board secretary; Steve Lundgren, treasurer; Joe Burke and Molly Mae Potter, national directors-at-large; and Jim Simons, national director for the North Central Region.
Murray has held a variety of executive and board positions since retiring from the Air Force in 2006 after a 29-year career. In addition to serving on the AFA Board of Directors, he has been a director at USAA, Air Force Enlisted Village, and the Air Force Museum Foundation. He spent 12 years in industry with Lockheed Martin, including four years as director for enterprise sustainment at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.
“I am honored and humbled by your consideration that I am a worthy candidate to succeed Whit Peters as the next chairman of the board,” Murray told AFA’s delegates prior to his election Sept. 14. “I don’t expect, nor should you, that I will do anything amazing or spectacular within the next three years. What I do promise is that you can count on me to do my best to make our association stronger and leave it better for the next chairman, just as Whit has done."
Peters, a former Air Force secretary, originally signed on for a two-year term, but agreed to extend his term a year ago.
“We’re exceptionally fortunate to have Gerald Murray to lead our board. As a former chief master sergeant of the Air Force, hopefully his election will destroy, once and for all, any notion that AFA is an association for officers," he said. "AFA is, in fact, an association for all members of the Air Force family—Active, Reserve, Guard, civilian, family members, and supporters.”
Peters formally relinquishes the chairmanship Oct. 1.
“I’m happy to have served and gratified to have someone of Gerald’s caliber and talents to succeed me and to continue the work we’ve been doing to position this association for continued growth and success over the years and decades to come," he said.
Murray said his priorities will start with forging the best possible relationship with AFA President and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright and the rest of the association’s professional staff.
“Whether supporting our young airmen and families in the field, or engaging government leaders on Capitol Hill, we are all one AFA with the same mission and objectives,” he said.