Heritage-Reserve loadmaster Chief's retirement ends an era

  • Published
  • By Ellen Hatfield
  • 349th Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The legacy of a flying family at Travis Air Force Base ended Oct. 3, 2014, with the retirement of Chief Master Sgt. Shawn Sanborn.

"There have been Sanborns flying at this base for 50 years," said the 301st Airlift Squadron loadmaster superintendent. His father retired from active duty in 1976, at the same time the Chief graduated from San Juan High School in Citrus Heights, and joined the Air Force himself. His father wasted no time in joining the 349th Air Mobility Wing as a flight engineer. His brother rounded out the legacy, serving with the 21st and 22nd Airlift Squadrons. He also retired as a chief. 

"My Dad's first trip with the wing, I flew with him," he said. "We were in the 301st together, and I flew one of his last trips with him, and I flew with my brother on one of his last trips."

Staff Sgt. Nicholas Sanborn followed in the footsteps of his father, uncle and grandfather, and is presently in technical school to become a loadmaster. But his first assignment will be a three-year tour of duty to Royal Air Force Mildenhall, United Kingdom. "Maybe he'll end up at Travis one day," mused the Chief.

Having served 38 years with the 349th, the Chief's family legacy might be ending here, but he forged a new one. He guided decades of airmen as he hired them off the street, grew them into senior noncommissioned officers, mentored them in their military and civilian careers, turned them into mentors themselves. He got to know their families. "They became part of my life. It's easy to treat them like family, because they are," he said.

He learned from his own mentors along the way, how to keep focused on his goals, how to navigate the detours and road blocks, how to be a mentor. They took an interest in his life, he said. Men like Master Sgts. John Lynch and Billy Hoglan, and Maj. Gen. James Rubeor. "They asked me, 'what are you going to do, what are your goals, how are you going to get there?' When I was struggling to get promoted at one point, Rubeor encouraged me to keep plugging away, don't give up. Here, read this book."

He's had a great ride along the way. He had memorable temporary duty assignments, deployments, humanitarian missions, and volunteer opportunities. He took them all. In between, his unit partnered with their sister squadron, the 21st AS, helping each other out, cementing a great relationship. And he had many days "raising" his airmen at the squadron.

He said his best deployment was his last one, in 2012, with the 21st AS. There was another loadmaster and a pilot from the 301st with him. They worked together, getting the job done, moving the missions, equipment, the war fighters. "We'd fly in, the flares would go off, yes, there were threats. But it's what we do," said the Chief.

His most memorable TDY was to Antarctica, to support the National Science Foundation. They flew lots of equipment and supplies throughout the freezing winter, landing on a seven-mile runway on the ice. He remembered a team rebuilding a DHC 6 Otter out on the ice.

He flew more humanitarian relief missions than he can name. After the first Gulf War, they flew food to the Kurds. He flew hurricane relief to Fiji, relief and supplies to Ghana, Africa, and typhoon relief to Guam. "We had an aircraft break in Guam, so got a waiver to work 30-hour days. We coordinated with the State Department to get supplies, anything we needed. We off-loaded 36 pallets of tents and tarps - 240,000 pounds - all by hand," Sanborn said. "Anytime I've been on a mission, and we were recut to support disaster relief, was the most rewarding. It's always good when you are helping people, and do something that isn't ordinary."

If you ask him, he was just an ordinary guy, who got to do extraordinary things, in an almost 40-year career, dedicated to serving. As his final salute approaches, his airmen at the squadron have been asking him, "What are we going to do without you, Chief?"

This is what he tells them. "I raised all these people in the 301st AS. You'll all be fine, because I raised all of you like I was raised, and you can do your job so well."

He has mentored and groomed Senior Master Sgt. Jennifer Pope, an exemplary SNCO, hoping she'll replace him. "She will be awesome," he said.

"I tried to stay involved, have a feel for everything going on in my squadron," said the Chief. "When they show up for the duty weekend, we're always working, and we do it well together. I always took the time to talk to my airmen; take five minutes to find out how they are really doing."

What he'll be doing is working on his projects and his wife's "honey do" list. As the secretary to the 60th Maintenance Group commander, she plans to continue working a little longer. He'll get away to his vacation home at Mt. Lassen. He'll spend time with his two grandchildren, age three and three months, and his daughter, in Santa Cruz. He'll visit his son at RAF Mildenhall, giving him an opportunity to tour the country some.

And he'll probably find an excuse to come to Travis and check up on all the airmen he raised, and his other family here. As he said himself, they're all a part of his life. And now, they're part of his heritage.