Legal NCO selected for commissioning program

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Brittany Liddon
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

A sergeant assigned to the 6th Air Mobility Wing (AMW), was recently chosen as the 2016 Air Mobility Command (AMC) Senior Leader Enlisted Commissioning Program (SLECP) recipient.

The program allows designated Air Force leaders to select exceptionally performing and highly talented enlisted members for commissioning through Officer Training School (OTS). This year’s AMC selectee is Tech. Sgt. Rachel Brinegar, NCO in charge of general law assigned to the 6th AMW Legal Office.

“It feels surreal to have been selected because I never thought I would even get past the wing level,” said Brinegar. “When Gen. Cox handed me his cell phone to talk to Gen. Carlton Everhart, the commander of AMC, I had to try not to cry.”

Brinegar met with Cox during his emersion of MacDill as the new 18th Air Force commander as part of a ploy from Everhart to tell her the news that her nomination package had been selected as the winner for AMC.

In her nomination package, Brinegar submitted a personal letter explaining why she would like to be an officer, a letter from her squadron commander, college transcripts and Enlisted Performance Reports. She then competed at the director of staff, wing, and numbered Air Force levels, and was finally interviewed as a finalist at the MAJCOM level.

“One person per MAJCOM was selected for the program, which is why I never thought I’d get it,” said Brinegar. “When I won at the wing, it was a shock. When I got selected at the NAF, I realized I actually had a chance. Then when they told me that I needed to interview with the AMC command chief, I was so surprised.”

The SLECP is broken up into two components. Brinegar will take part in the program for selectees who have less than three years of school left. She and the other participants will remain on active duty and finish their degree at whatever college they choose, then go to OTS. The second component is for selectees who already have a completed degree.

In August, Brinegar will attend the University of South Florida as a full-time student pursuing a degree in public health.

“Now that it’s almost time to start this new and exciting challenge, I think about the help that I received along the way,” said Brinegar. “I am so thankful that my leadership invested a lot of time and effort into getting this package together, helping me, and believing in me enough to nominate me to become an officer.”

Brinegar said she attributes a great portion of her success to the help she received from Lt. Col. Christopher Brown, staff judge advocate, and Mr. Robert Jones, division chief of general law, both assigned to the 6th AMW.

“I think the greatest thing you can do for the people you work with is to help them achieve their goals,” explained Jones. “So anytime anyone who works for me has a personal success like that, I am ecstatic for them and any limited role I might have played in helping them get to that goal. I can say without reservation that Brinegar will do great things.”

Brinegar, who began her career as a command and control Airman, retrained as a paralegal in 2012. This new career path provides her with the opportunity to take what she has learned so far and apply it as a commissioned officer.

“The biggest thing that I want to bring with me from my enlisted time to officer is my experience and understanding of the journey of the enlisted Airman,” explained Brinegar. “I have learned the processes, struggles and accomplishments of the enlisted. So, I want to take that knowledge with me as I lead the enlisted.”