Timothy Russer, village native and chief master sgt., retires

After 24 years of service, Freeport native, Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Lloyd Russer has retired from the District of Columbia Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force with the highest enlisted rank.

Within the Air National Guard and United States Air Force, he attained the rank where only 1 percent of all enlisted members of the Air Force may occupy the pay grade of E-9 at any given time, making his chief master sergeant selection exceptionally difficult. As demonstrated by his stellar career and promotion to the highest enlisted level of leadership, Russer exemplifies the best attributes of a military leader.

“My colleagues might criticize the way that I’ve bounced around a lot and didn’t kind of take the traditional way of kind of building a career,” he said. “I think it has more prepared me for life after wearing the uniform than if I had stayed in one career field and just become an expert in that one thing. I almost took a very generalist approach and was able to see the world, understand how the government works and pick up some skills along the way.”

Russer earned a New York State Regents diploma from Freeport High School in 1995. Growing up, he was involved within his community, serving as the Deacon within the First Presbyterian Church of Freeport.

Russer was a member of the Boy Scout Troop 454 of Freeport, eventually reaching the rank of first class. This would not be the last time he used his tenacity and spirit to advance through an organization’s ranks.

For decades, Paul Russer, his father, was very involved in the Freeport Fire Department and served as a Chief from 1998 to 2002.

The younger Russer spent several years as a volunteer fireman with the Freeport Fire Department’s Ever Ready Hose Company No. 1 and worked in the audio visual department for the Freeport Public Schools prior to entering the military full-time.

“I grew up in a military family,” Russer said. “My father was on active duty in the Navy and the Army Reserve like my grandfather did when he was in the various branches of the Army. I think if I really trace hard, I can go back to the generations before that, so it was always kind of the family business in some ways.”

Russer enlisted in the York Air National Guard in 1997 as a still photographer with the 106th Rescue Wing.

“I started there as a part time photographer,” Russer said. “My intent in joining was just to gain some of the educational benefits and be able to go back to school, get a degree, and then kind of move on with life. Then, I ended up doing that for about five and a half years.

Russer was later deployed to New York City in support of Operation Resolve shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

“I was on the ground in New York City, helping to secure the perimeter and with the National Guard call up and it kind of really resonated with me a little bit,” he said. “You know, kind of wearing the uniform every day seemed like the right thing to do.”

After five years with the New York Air National Guard, he transferred to the United States Air Force, where he held special duty positions as a military training instructor and course developer Air Force Basic Military Training, both of which are atypical for a member of the National Guard. 

In 2007, he relocated to the National Capital Region, where he worked in a variety of capacities with the National Guard Bureau and the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Russer was later chosen for retraining as a flight attendant transporting Congressional delegations and other senior leaders around the world. He was also chosen for positions as a personalist, and as an enlisted aide managing a three-star general’s official residence. He deployed to McMurdo Station, Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, after which of his photography was published.

Russer represented the United States Air Force in the United States Congress as the first Air National Guard enlisted legislative fellow. While working in the office of then-Sen. Kamala Harris — now the vice president — he supported defense and veterans’ issues.