Chief Balutski takes over as Vance's senior enlisted

  • Published
  • By Joe B. Wiles
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Chief Master Sgt. Mitchell Kenui Balutski got his Hawaiian name from his grandmother and his Polish last name from his grandfather, an Army aviator stationed on Oahu, Hawaii, during World War II. 

Chief Balutski, the new 71st Flying Training Wing command chief, arrived at Vance last week from a four-year assignment at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in England. His office walls are still empty. 

"Since we arrived, people have been so accommodating," said the 25-year Air Force veteran. His wife and three sons are with him. "The folks downtown don't know who we are, yet they have been so friendly and genuine," Chief Balutski said. 

"We're excited to be here and are very enthused about the next couple of years." 

Enthused is a mild word to describe the 6-foot-3-inch senior NCO. He completed his high school education at the prestigious Kamehameha School on Oahu -- a school designed to assist people of Hawaiian ancestry to achieve their highest potential. 

Chief Balutski learned his lessons well. After three years of construction work in Hawaii and Midway Island and learning about hotel management at the Turtle Bay Hilton, he and his cousin decided to join the Air Force. 

"One of my uncles, a colonel in the Hawaiian Air National Guard, recommended we go that route," he said. "We scored well enough on the tests to be selected crypto-linguist. I was going to learn Russian." 

But during basic training, Chief Balutski didn't qualify for the high-level security clearance needed for the crypto-linguist job. "They told me I could go home since they couldn't fulfill their end of the contract. I thought, 'are you crazy?' I have no hair, I'm two weeks away from finishing basic - what are my options." Picking a new career field was one of those options. 

"My test scores qualified me for just about anything, so I picked computers and 25 years later, here I am." 

Along that 25-year journey he has served as a computer main frame system operator, a data base manager, computer systems manager, superintendent of a network operations and security center, an inspector of all those things and a chief enlisted manager, group superintendent and now a wing command chief. 

The study skills and self discipline he learned in high school helped him progress through the enlisted ranks, earning chief stripes at 20 years. And he is more than willing to share his techniques for success. 

"Discipline in the things you do makes things easier," he said. "Establish study routines and stick with them." 

In his own life, he picked 5 p.m. to study every day. "For one hour I would hit the books. And it wasn't me alone. I had a great support system - my wife Donna. She would round up the kids and take them somewhere during that study hour." 

Chief Balutski has an almost constant smile on his face. But it kicks into overdrive when he mentions Donna. They met at Tyndall AFB, Fla. She was active duty enlisted at the time. "We went to the same church, had friends and activities in common, and a friendship just slowly blossomed," he said.

After the chief returned from a deployment to Operation Desert Storm, he and Donna were married in 1991. "She spent eight years on active duty with the Air Force, and a few more years with the Texas Air National Guard. She knows the Air Force way of life and is big into volunteering. 

"In fact, she was the chair of the American Women's Activities Group for all of Europe while we were in RAF Lakenheath. She is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist by training," Chief Balutski said. 

He and Donna have four children. Tiffany, a daughter from Donna's previous marriage, turns 22 this month and currently lives in Massachusetts. 

"She attended Hillsong International Leadership College in Australia for three years and is pursuing a dream to become a Christian song writer," he said. 

Their three sons; Kenui Junior, 16, Kalai, almost 15, and Marty, 13 in August, are football players -- and no wonder. The chief outfitted each with football gear at age 6. He was also the two older boys' football coach when they played at RAF Lakenheath.

Sons playing sports was the link that brought Chief Balutski and Col. Chris Nowland, the 71st FTW commander, together. "One of my sons wrestled with Colonel Nowland's son, and another of my sons played football with him," the chief said. 

Chief Balutski is a strong believer in balance between the job, the family and the community. He says family provides critical support for accomplishing a successful Air Force career. Giving back to the local community helps maintain a "whole person concept." 

For promotion to the senior ranks, you need to demonstrate that whole person, he said. "You have to be at the top of your professional game. But you must also be involved in community service. 

"Find something you love to do that is of benefit to others - then do it. Then you aren't just filling a square. You are growing personally and helping others," the chief said. 

Chief Balutski's number one priority as Vance's command chief is the professional development of the enlisted corps. "It is what we are called to do - build our replacements. With all the uncertainty in today's world and all the directions in which a warrior is pulled, if there is a breach in professionalism, we're going to lose our edge. 

"It is our responsibility as leaders to keep our Airmen geared up to fight the nation's wars, to be the consummate professionals that we need in the Air Force of today and of the future," he said. 

"Mentoring our Airmen is vital to their development. More can be learned in a half hour mentoring session than in a year's worth of classes. We must show them where they fit into the mission, how they benefit the mission and how they can be a detriment when they are not fully functional," Chief Balutski said. 

When he discusses balance in one's life, Chief Balutski includes a spiritual element. "I believe that God provides opportunities and it is how we use them that determines where we go - and I am very glad to be here."