Two Chiefs, one roof

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rusty Frank
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Reserved to one percent of the enlisted force; the pinnacle of an enlistee's career takes dedication to the Air Force Core Values.

The honor of being called a chief does not belong to the Air Force only.

"I was born a king," said Lawrence Oti Brembah, a 786th Force Support Squadron food services worker hired at Ramstein Air Base, from Accra, Ghana.

Brembah belongs to a small tribe of the Ashanti people called Ankasi. He said in his family the kingship is passed from his grandfather to his father all the way down to him. The riches and glory that come with being a king sound good to some, but for others it's not what they want for their life.

"I didn't want to be a king," he said. "I choose to be Christian; as a king I couldn't be a Christian at the same time. It's not what I wanted for my life, I wanted to live a normal life like everybody else."

Soon the house of Brembah will contain two chiefs because he's married to a chief master sergeant select in the U.S. Air Force.

"We met at the dining facility at Ramstein Air Base where we were both working," said Senior Master Sgt. Jennifer Brembah, 52nd Force Support Squadron superintendent. "He proposed February 2011, and we ended up getting married a few months later."

It wasn't until after they were married that Sergeant Brembah found out she married somebody who could be royalty.

"She didn't know that I was a chief, because everybody at work calls me Lawrence," he said.

When she did find out that he could be a king, she accepted it.

"I just think that it's really unique, when I first met him and started spending time with his family, just the idea of him having that title was very intriguing," she said. "To hear him talk about how proud he is of his grandfather and what an honor it is for him to be labeled a chief or have the potential to be called a king in his Ashanti Tribe is unique."

Every leader needs something special that pushes him or her to be great, and for sergeant Brembah it's no different.

"As we all say there are people or a group of people that help you get to where you are, and he is my rock," she said. "For me, being a chief is an honor, and I could not have done it without the people in my life, and I know that Lawrence played a huge role in me making chief."

For Airmen in the U.S. Air Force, staying spiritually, socially, mentally, and physically fit is important. For Sergeant Brembah, her husband provides that support.

"Because I have that solidarity it helps me as an Airman, it helps me with my leadership abilities; it helps me be a good follower because I have that support network," she said. "If I'm spiritually fit, I'm mentally fit, I'm physically fit. They all tie in together to build that foundation of Airmanship."

Having one chief who is a chief in the Air Force and the other who could be a tribal chief living under the same roof presents a unique one-of-kind situation.

"We always joke that if I ever made chief then we would have two chiefs under one roof," Sergeant Brembah said. "As for the role of chief, I just think that it's awesome that his family has that tradition, and he has that role in his family."