On June 19, 2020, the U.S. Air Force announced that Chief Master Sgt. JoAnne S. Bass would become the services’ 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force.
And when Bass assumed the position as the highest enlisted person in the Air Force on Aug. 14 that same year, she made history as the first female to hold the office.
In selecting Bass, 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.
“I could not be more excited to work side-by-side with Chief Bass,” Brown said.
Brown himself made history when he was confirmed as the 22nd Chief of Staff of the Air Force becoming the first African American to hold the post.
“I’m honored and humbled to be selected as the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, and follow in the footsteps of some of the best leaders our Air Force has ever known,” Bass said at the time of her selection. “The history of the moment isn’t lost on me; I’m just ready to get after it. And I’m extremely grateful for and proud of my family and friends who helped me along the way.”
At the time of her selection, she was the 2nd Air Force’s Command Chief Master Sergeant at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., which she had reported to in July 2018.
Bass was raised as an Army dependent, living in several overseas and stateside locations, prior to entering the Air Force in 1993. Throughout her career, she has held a variety of leadership positions serving at the squadron, group, wing and major command levels. She has significant joint service and special operations experience and has participated in several operations and exercises as well as deployments in direct support of Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force represents the highest enlisted level of leadership, and as such, provides direction for the enlisted force and represents their interests, as appropriate, to the American public and to those in all levels of government.
The CMSAF serves as the personal adviser to the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of the Air Force on all issues regarding the welfare, readiness, morale, and proper utilization and progress of more than 600,000 Total Force Airmen.
“I do not know when the next conflict will arise or when the next humanitarian disaster might occur, but I do know whenever our nation calls, Airmen will respond,” she said at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference on Sept. 20, 2022. “It is because of you that Americans sleep well at night and will continue to do so for generations to come.”
