James Binnicker, the ninth chief master sergeant of the Air Force, who died passed away March 21, will be buried laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. He was 76.
The date of his memorial service and interment at Arlington has not yet been set.
In the meantime, The Air Force said in a Tuesday release that a celebration of life ceremony will be held for Binnicker at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Emerald Coast Convention Center in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, the Air Force said in a Tuesday release.
The date of his memorial service and interment at Arlington has not yet been set.
The ceremony in Florida is will be open to the public, the Air Force said. It will be attended by military leaders and residents of the Air Force Enlisted Village, where Binnicker served as president and CEO for 15 years before he died.
Binnicker's family has requested donations be made to the Enlisted Village in lieu of flowers, the Air Force said.
Binnicker has had a lasting effect on the lives and careers of enlisted airmen. He oversaw the Air Force's transition from the old Airman Performance Report to the Enlisted Performance Report system of evaluating enlisted airmen, and pushed the service to admit master sergeants to the Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Academy.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
