Rare Honor

CMSgt. Mike Ramos, an Air Force Special Operations Command combat controller, has received the Legion of Merit to honor his more than 30 years as a leader in special tactics operations. AFSOC boss Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster noted at the Jan. 5 ceremony that the LOM generally goes to successful wing commanders and to command chiefs “extremely rarely.” AFSOC command chief CMSgt. Mike Gilbert summed up, “It is exceptional, but so was Chief Ramos’ service.” Gilbert called Ramos “one of the very top chiefs in special tactics” who clearly had a broad impact on the force. Throughout his career, Ramos received numerous decorations over multiple deployments, and he spearheaded expansion of AFSOC’s joint terminal attack controller roster and served as AFSOC’s first combat control functional area manager. His replacement as FAM, CMSgt. Tim Hoye called Ramos a “visionary” and the “epitome of what a chief should be.” (AFSOC report by CMSgt. Ty Foster)