Liberty Wing command chief retires after 30 years of service Published May 2, 2013 By Staff Sgt. Stephen Linch 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH -- Chief Master Sgt. SaRita Lathan, former 48th Fighter Wing command chief, retired during a ceremony at Hangar 7 April 26, 2013. "It's been a great 30 years," Lathan said. "I never thought I would do 30 years." "It has gone by very fast," she added. Lathan joined the Air Force to travel and work with computers in 1983. Since then she has held a variety of communications-computer systems positions at the base, group, wing and field operating agency level, but that has not been the highlight of her career. "Retiring as a chief, period, is awesome, but to be the command chief of Lakenheath is the epitome of my career," she said. During her career she was stationed in Texas, Maryland, Mississippi, Hawaii, Georgia, Nevada, Italy, South Korea and England and deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. According to Lathan, it was the people at these assignments that made her career. "The accomplishments I made are because of the people I met," she said. "You meet people that are going to make an impact on you either positively or negatively," Lathan elaborated. "So all those people I met had an impact on me - they are the reasons I am a chief." Rising through the ranks and serving 30 years has taught her many lessons, which she said could benefit any Airman. "Stay true to yourself, because once you are true to yourself, everything else is going to work out," Lathan said. "You can't start worrying about the things we can't control." "If you are in the military, remember why you joined the military. Continue to do things you know that are right," she continued. "Remember every choice and every decision you make is going to have consequences whether they are positive or negative," Lathan said. "So always think about the things you want to do and make sure a positive is going to come from them instead of a negative." Lathan credits Liberty Wing Airmen for not only making her last assignment her best assignment, but helping her be the best she could be. "The Airmen here have made me a better person, they made me a better chief and they made me a better Airman," she said.