Bass Tapped as Air Force’s First Female Enlisted Leader

Bass Tapped as Air Force’s First Female Enlisted Leader

By Rachel S. Cohen

Chief Master Sgt. JoAnne Bass will become the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, and the first female enlisted Airman to lead one of the military services. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who will take over as Chief of Staff later this summer, picked Bass to follow outgoing CMSAF Kaleth Wright. Bass’s selection sets up a historic leadership slate for the Air Force: It will become the first military branch run by a Black Chief of Staff and a female enlisted Chief. Bass currently serves as command chief master sergeant for Second Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. She is the top enlisted adviser for Air Force-run training courses that graduate 150,000 military personnel each year.