Pulaski countian Ping honored as top U.S.A.F. officer

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Master Sgt. William Darion Ping, a Somerset native, was honored as the Air Force’s top security officer for 2008.

March 9, 2009

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By TRICIA NEAL, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Mon Mar 09, 2009, 10:11 AM EDT

Pulaski County native Darion Ping always wanted to be a police officer.

These days, he’s not only living his dream, but he’s also proving to be the best in his field.

Ping was recently named the top security forces senior noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force for 2008 — over approximately 30,000 other Air Force officers.

“Basically I was chosen as the top cop in the Air Force,” Ping explained to the Commonwealth Journal.

“It’s a huge honor. ... I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family, my supervisors or my troops. It’s their award, too. They just pointed me in the right direction.”

Master Sgt. William Darion Ping, son of Glenn Ping and Lois Mathis, graduated from Pulaski County High School in 1990 with his eyes on a future in law enforcement.

“Law enforcement is in my blood,” he said.

“I had a cousin who was in the Air Force as a jet mechanic, and a great uncle who served in World War II, so there was military in my family. ... The Air Force guaranteed me a job in law enforcement, which is something the other services couldn’t guarantee at the time.”

And so, in 1991, Ping left Kentucky and began Air Force training in San Antonio, Texas. From there, he went to New Jersey and North Dakota, and, within a few years, the Air Force sent him overseas — to an air base in Buechel, Germany. Ping stayed in Germany for three years before he was transferred to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. There, he was a dog handler with the Air Force officers whose job it was to protect the President. Next, Ping was off to Elmendorf, Alaska, and then he was sent back to the eastern U.S. — this time to work at the Pentagon, part of the time as a bodyguard for the Secretary of the Air Force.

Now Ping is back at Andrews, where he is the sergeant in charge of operations for the 316th Security Forces police agency. He commands a troop of approximately 450.

In April of 2008, Ping was hand-picked by top Air Force leaders to direct K-9 coordination at Andrews Air Force Base for Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival – the first such coordination in 27 years. But Ping’s toughest challenge came in June of that year, when he was tasked to lead a squad of 39 security forces members to an air base in Iraq to perform duties at the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Anti-terrorism Superintendent.

‘‘My job was to secure the base from the inside ... as much as possible,” explained Ping.

‘‘When you have anywhere from 29,000 to 30,000 people on a base, that’s a big time job.”

In his nearly 18 years in the Air Force, Ping has had a productive career, but 2008 was an especially good year.

In addition to being chosen for the Air Force Security Forces Senior Officer of the Year Award, he was awarded the 2008 Best U.S. Central Command Installation Anti-terrorism Program, the 316th Security Forces Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, the 332nd AEW Team of the Month, the 332nd AEW SNCO of the Month, and the AFDW Security Forces Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.

Ping will be able to retire from the Air Force in about two-and-a-half years. But he doesn’t plan to sit still during his retirement.

The next thing on his to-do list?

“My long-term goal is to run for Sheriff in Pulaski County,” Ping said.

He believes his 20-year career in law enforcement will help him in his campaign.

“My wife and I own a home in Science Hill that is already being prepared for our return when we retire,” Ping said.

He says he’s a Kentucky boy at heart and misses country living.

He is married to Petty Officer 1st Class Rachael Ping, a Navy intelligence analyst at the Pentagon. He also has a son, William Joseph Ping, 13, who lives in Maryland.

When he returns to Pulaski County, Ping hopes to find a job in law enforcement — and then to run for sheriff a few years later.

Ping said he knows current Pulaski County Sheriff Todd Wood.

“It’s nothing personal,” he said.

“I’m sure when (Wood) sees this, he’ll laugh.”

•••

Some information for this article was obtained from the Air Force District of Washington News Web site.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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