JoAnne S. Bass

JoAnne S. Bass is an American military noncommissioned officer. She became the first female senior enlisted service member of any U.S. military branch on August 14, 2020,[1] having been selected for the position on June 19, 2020.[2] She is also the first person of Asian-American descent to hold the senior enlisted position in the Air Force.[3] She will be the U.S. Air Force's 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force.[1] At the time of her selection, she was the Second Air Force's Command Chief Master Sergeant at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, which she had reported to in July 2018.[4] Air Force News reported "incoming Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown said Bass brings skills, temperament and experience that the job requires and an outlook on leadership that meshes with his own", and that Brown said "I could not be more excited to work side-by-side with Chief Bass."[2]

JoAnne S. Bass
CMSAF JoAnne S. Bass in 2020
Born	Mililani, Hawaii
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1993–present
Rank	Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Commands held	Second Air Force
Awards	Legion of Merit

Early life

Bass is originally from Mililani, Oahu, Hawaii.[5] Her mother is of Korean descent and her father is a retired U.S. Army colonel. Her family lived in many stateside and overseas locations.[3]

Military career

Bass participated in Operation Southern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.[5] She joined the Air Force in 1993, specializing in aviation resource management. Bass's first duty assignment was at Pope Air Force Base, near Fayetteville, North Carolina. Later she was assigned to the 17th Training Wing at Goodfellow Air Force Base, near San Angelo, Texas.[2] In 2011 while assigned to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, she was selected as Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.[1]

Education

• 1997 Airman Leadership School, Pope Air Force Base (AFB), N.C.[6]
• 2000 Associate Degree, Airport Resource Management, Community College of the Air Force
• 2004 Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Kapaun Air Station, Germany
• 2005 Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• 2006 Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Course 12, by distance learning
• 2007 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education, by distance learning
• 2009 Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 2013 Air Mobility Command Leadership Challenge Program, Ramstein Air Base (AB), Germany
• 2013 Chief Master Sergeant Leadership Seminar, Ramstein AB, Germany
• 2015 AFSO21 Executive Leadership Seminar, University of Tennessee, Nashville
• 2015 USAF Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• 2016 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education II, by distance learning
• 2017 Keystone Command Senior Enlisted Leader Course, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
• 2018 Leading Strategically, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Spring, Colo.
• 2018 Coaching for Greater Effectiveness, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, N.C.

Assignments

• 1. June 1993–June 1996, Operations System Management Journeyman, 74th Fighter Squadron, Pope Air Force Base (AFB), N.C.[6]
• 2. June 1996–July 1998, Range Scheduling Specialist, 43rd Operations Support Squadron, Pope AFB, N.C.
• 3. July 1998–November 2000, Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Current Operations Scheduler, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Fort Bragg, N.C.
• 4. November 2000–March 2001, Current Operations Scheduler, 86th Operations Support Squadron, Ramstein Air Base (AB), Germany
• 5. March 2001–January 2004, Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Special Airlift Operations, Air Mobility Operations Control Center, Ramstein AB, Germany
• 6. January 2004–November 2005, Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Host Aviation Resource Management, 86th Operations Support Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany
• 7. November 2005–August 2010, Superintendent, Host Aviation Resource Management, Group Career Field Functional Manager, (Data Masked)
• 8. August 2010–September 2012, Superintendent, Host Aviation Resource Management and Superintendent, 86th Operations Support Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany
• 9. September 2012–May 2015, Superintendent, 86th Operations Group, Ramstein AB, Germany
• 10. May 2015–September 2016, Command Chief Master Sergeant, 17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB, Texas
• 11. September 2016–July 2018, Chief, Air Force Enlisted Developmental Education, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
• 12. July 2018–August 2020, Command Chief Master Sergeant, Second Air Force, Keesler AFB, Miss.
• 13. August 2020–present, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

Awards and decorations

	Air Force Master Command and Control Badge
	Headquarters Air Force Badge

Personal decorations
	Legion of Merit[7]
	Defense Meritorious Service Medal[6]
	Meritorious Service Medal with four bronze oak leaf clusters[6]
	Joint Service Commendation Medal[6]
	Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters[6]
	Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters[6]
Unit awards
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters
Service awards
	Combat Readiness Medal
	Air Force Good Conduct Medal with one silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
	Air Force Good Conduct Medal (second ribbon to denote tenth award)
Campaign and service medals
	National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with service star
	Southwest Asia Service Medal with service star
	Iraq Campaign Medal with service star
	Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
	Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Service, training, and marksmanship awards
	Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon with oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver oak leaf cluster
	NCO Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon with two oak leaf clusters
	Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
	Air Force Training Ribbon

Other achievements

• 1995 Airman of the Year, 74th Fighter Squadron[6]
• 1997 John L. Levitow Award, Airman Leadership School
• 2004 Distinguished Graduate, Noncommissioned Officer Academy
• 2009 Distinguished Graduate, Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy
• 2010 USAFE Senior Noncommissioned Officer Aviation Resource Manager of the Year
• 2011 Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, 86th Operations Group

References

1. Casiano, Louis (19 June 2020). "Air Force names first woman as top noncommissioned officer of any US military branch". Foxnews. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
2. Pope, Charles (19 June 2020). "Chief Master Sgt. JoAnne S. Bass named 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force". Air Force News. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
3. Losey, Stephen (19 June 2020). "CMSgt JoAnne Bass to become first woman to serve as chief master sergeant of the Air Force". Air Force Times. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
4. Flores, Jessica (21 June 2020). "Air Force chooses JoAnne Bass as first woman to serve as top enlisted leader: 'The history of the moment isn't lost on me'". USA Today. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
5. "Mililani woman makes Air Force history as top enlisted leader". Star Advertiser via Associated Press. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
6. "Chief Master Sergeant Joanne S. Bass". Second Air Force. July 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
7. "Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Joanne S. Bass". United States Air Force. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Air Force document: "JoAnne S. Bass, USAF biography".

Military offices
Preceded by Kaleth O. Wright	Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Aug 14, 2020–present	Incumbent