Lincoln, Neb. –
LINCOLN, Neb. – They say that the “Guard is Family.”
For the Nebraska Air National Guard’s retiring state command chief master sergeant, that statement is more than just words; it’s way of life.
Chief Master Sgt. Jeff Horne has spent more than 40 years in military uniform, having served at the Nebraska National Guard air base in Lincoln since his enlistment in 1985. However, while Horne’s time in the military came to an end on Feb. 1, his name will remain an integral part of the base community for years to come.
That’s because three of Horne’s four children are currently serving in the Nebraska Air National Guard, continuing a family legacy of service to state and nation.
“It definitely helps with my transition,” said Horne, “because I know my kids are still in and I can keep in touch that way.”
“I am just so proud,” Horne said. “I’m a pretty humble guy and I don’t brag about a lot of things, but I do about my kids and how they chose to get in the Guard on their own… and they’ve all worked their butts off to do a great job.”
The Horne family legacy is significant.
Eldest son Dillon is a captain and pilot with the 155th Air Refueling Wing’s 173rd Aerial Refueling Squadron. Daughter Madison is a first lieutenant and maintenance officer with the 155th Maintenance Group. Son Hunter is a senior airman and aerial boom operator with the 155th ARW’s 173rd ARS.
Horne’s eldest daughter, Ashley, did not choose a military path. However, Horne said, “She is our biggest supporter of what we do in the military.” He added that Ashley is also committed to service, being active both in her church and community while also home schooling her four children. “I couldn’t be prouder of her.”
Horne said he and his wife never forced the Guard onto their children while they were growing up. However, the impression about what it meant to serve in the Guard began quite early.
Horne spent most of his career working at the Lincoln Air Base Fire Department, first as a State of Nebraska employee and later as a federal technician. It was a job that frequently kept him away from his family for extended times.
“I was working 24-hour shifts at the fire department and that’s when the kids really started coming out to the base,” Horne said. “We’d have dinner as a family at the fire station and they got to look at the fire trucks and all of the other stuff.”
“It never dawned on me that they would get in the Guard one day in the future,” he added.
Those early-day visits to the Guard base, say the younger Hornes, left long-lasting impressions and had a direct impact on their ultimate decision to pursue their own careers in the Nebraska Air Guard.
“I used to come out here if I had days off from school and hang out with the guys at the fire department,” said Dillon Horne. “I have a pretty vivid memory of coming out here for an air show when I was 12 years old and getting to hang out. The fire department had a pretty big role in the air show….and I just remember hanging out with the guys on the fire truck and seeing all of these planes flying around and thinking… ‘Damn, I really want to fly some day.’”
So, when the time came, Dillon joined the Nebraska Air National Guard as an enlisted fire fighting specialist before ultimately being selected to become a pilot in the unit.
For Madison Horne, although she didn’t realize it at the time, the initial itch began while she was also in elementary school. She recalled when her father was deployed overseas during the early years of the Global War on Terrorism while she was in kindergarten.
“(My class) all wrote notes to him and the other Airmen who were deployed and we put them into a huge box of care packages,” she said. “It was just all so vivid. We felt like we were doing something as a class to help the Airmen out.”
Although the itch began early, it still took some time before Madison ultimately decided to join the Air Guard. She said her father never pressured her about joining the Guard. In fact, the subject rarely came up.
“Never once did Dad bring up joining to me,” she said.
During her sophomore year of college, she decided it was time. Madison began talking with the local unit recruiter about possible openings and career paths. And only then did she tell her father about what she was contemplating doing.
“He was like, ‘You want do what?’,” Madison said, laughing at the memory of her father’s reaction. “He was just totally surprised because I was in a sorority and doing things in college. And even though he had never pushed me to join the Guard, when I told him that I thought I was ready to join, he was completely supportive.”
The third and final Horne to join was Hunter, who enlisted after completing high school.
“Just growing up around the Guard, I knew that I wanted to join,” Hunter said. “But when I finally told my dad… he goes, ‘Are you sure? I don’t want to pressure you or anything. I want this to be something that you want to do, not something you’re doing because your siblings have joined.’”
Although their individual careers are taking them in different directions within the Nebraska Air National Guard, their connective lineage is never far away. All three Hornes said knowing their father achieved significant success as a fire fighter and then as the wing and later state senior enlisted advisor, has motivated them to ensure that they do their best every day. The fact that they all wear the same name on their uniforms only adds to their motivation to uphold their family name, especially when members of the unit notice the similarity.
“I think its something that I am extremely proud of,” said Madison. “But then also, the one thing that I strive to do in my own career is that, yes he’s my dad, but look I’m capable and I’m going to prove myself, too.”
“Whenever people put two and two together and realize that you’re his kid, it really does motivate you to want to do your best,” said Hunter.
Although there may be some burdens associated with being the children of the organization’s senior enlisted leader, there are also some advantages. Advantages like the lessons passed down over their lifetimes. And those lessons are many.
“I think the biggest thing that my dad taught me was to have fun in your work,” said Hunter. “When I was growing up, I always remembered him coming home with a smile on his face and talking about the things they did that day. What I think he taught me was to treat work like a fun place… a place that you want to go to; to create a place where you enjoy going to.”
Madison agreed. “I think he’s always been a natural role model for me,” she said. “Rather than directly teaching me explicitly, it was more implicit in learning from him on how to be a leader, how to interact with the people he meets, and all of the decisions he’s made during his career.”
“He made me become a more well-rounded person,” Dillon added. “You know, to be respectful and to have integrity – to do the right thing when nobody’s watching – and to lead by example.”
The Hornes said those lessons were learned both at home and on the base. In fact, they said, Horne’s persona as an Air Guard chief is no different than his persona as a father.
“If anything, he’s nicer on the base,” Dillon said, laughing. “But, in reality, whenever you see him out on the base, talking to people, what you see is what you get. It doesn’t matter who he is talking to, he’s always the same person. He’s more than just a chief, he’s just a people person.”
“And he’s really no different at home,” he added.
Madison and Hunter agreed. “He’s just so authentic and genuine; what you see is what you get,” she said.
“You can tell that he really cares about people,” added Hunter. “He’s always making people laugh and sharing this positive energy. He’s very down to earth and hard-working… and people notice that.”
According to the elder Horne, he’s thought quite a bit about the legacy he is leaving as the Nebraska Air Guard’s eighth state command chief master sergeant. And he’s proud of what he sees.
“I have loved getting to wear this uniform,” Horne said. “I think the hardest thing for me is knowing that I’m not going to get to wear it for much longer.”
Horne said having the opportunity to help shape the organization as the wing and then state command chief has been extremely fulfilling. So have the relationships that he’s been able to forge – both within the Nebraska Air Guard as well as with others outside of the organization, like the one he developed with the Czech Defense Force’s senior enlisted leaders.
“I could not have imagined getting the opportunities that I have been given when I first enlisted,” Horne said.
He added one of the most important lessons he learned along the way was to treat every job as important and to give a complete effort in whatever he was doing. “My whole philosophy during my career was to never chase stripes and always work as hard as you can in the job that you are in. If you do that, people will see it and the stripes will come.”
“So, I just worked really hard… and the stripes did eventually come,” he added.
Horne said it’s a lesson he hopes his kids will take with them as they continue to plot their own individual careers.
“We all know that the Guard relies on a team approach to getting things done,” he said. “When you’re doing this, it takes all of our unit members, as well as their families and their employers. I know for a fact that if I had not had the support of my family, none of what I was able to do would’ve been possible. So, hopefully they know how completely thankful I am for them and their support.”
He said that one of his goals now, is to be that source of family support when his kids’ military duties pull them away from their homes and families.
“In a lot of ways, it’s my turn to give back and to help them when they need it,” Horne said.