Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
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The chief master sergeant of the Air Force (acronym: CMSAF) is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Air Force. The holder of this rank and position of office represents the highest enlisted level of leadership in the Air Force, unless an enlisted airman is serving as the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman. The CMSAF provides direction for the enlisted corps and represents their interests, as appropriate, to the American public, and to those in all levels of government. The CMSAF is appointed by the Air Force chief of staff (AF/CC) and serves as the senior enlisted advisor to the Air Force chief of staff and the secretary of the Air Force on all issues regarding the welfare, readiness, morale, and proper utilization and progress of the enlisted force.
The current 20th chief master sergeant of the Air Force is Chief David A. Flosi, who assumed the role on 8 March 2024.<ref name="lom">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The chief master sergeant of the Air Force is designated as a special paygrade above E-9, and although the CMSAF is a non-commissioned officer, protocol states that the CMSAF has precedence over all lieutenant generals at joint events, and over all lieutenant generals except the Air Force director of staff at Air Force–exclusive events.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Rank insignia and positional colorsEdit
On 1 November 2004,<ref name="NewInsignia">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the CMSAF's rank insignia was updated to include the Great Seal of the United States and two stars in the upper field. This puts the insignia in line with those of the Army and Marine Corps which have similar insignia to denote their senior enlisted servicemen. The laurel wreath around the star in the lower field remained unchanged, to retain the legacy of the Chief Master Sergeants of the Air Force.
The CMSAF wears distinctive collar insignia. Traditionally, enlisted airmen's collar insignia was silver-colored "U.S." within a ring. The CMSAF's collar brass replaced the standard ring with a silver laurel wreath. The CMSAF also wears a distinctive cap device. Enlisted airmen's cap device is the Coat of Arms of the United States, surrounded by a ring, all struck from silver-colored metal. Much as with the position's distinctive collar brass, the ring is replaced with a laurel wreath for the CMSAF.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The sergeant major of the Army, chief master sergeant of the Air Force, chief master sergeant of the Space Force, senior enlisted advisor to the chief of the National Guard Bureau, and the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman are the only members of the United States armed forces below the rank of brigadier general/rear admiral (lower half) to be authorized a positional color (flag). The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force colors were authorized in January 2013.<ref>CMSAF Transition Ceremony </ref>
The official term of address for the CMSAF is "Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force" or "Chief."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- CMSAF insignia timeline
- E9 USAF CMSAF 1967-1991.svg
1967–1991
- E9d USAF CMSAF old.svg
1991–2004
- E9d USAF CMSAF.svg
2004–present
List of chief master sergeants of the Air ForceEdit
TimelineEdit
<timeline> ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:13 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1967 till:31/12/{{#expr:{{#time:Y}}+1}} TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1970
Define $now = {{#time:d/m/Y|-5 hours}}
Colors =
id:cmsaf value:rgb(0,0,1) legend: CMSAF id:time value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9)
Legend = orientation:vertical position:right
LineData =
layer:back width:0.1 color:time at:01/01/1970 at:01/01/1975 at:01/01/1980 at:01/01/1985 at:01/01/1990 at:01/01/1995 at:01/01/2000 at:01/01/2005 at:01/01/2010 at:01/01/2015 at:01/01/2020
BarData =
barset:PM bar:airey bar:harlow bar:kisling bar:barnes bar:gaylor bar:mccoy bar:andrews bar:parish bar:binnicker bar:pfingston bar:campanale bar:benken bar:finch bar:murray bar:mckinley bar:roy bar:cody bar:wright bar:bass bar:flosi
PlotData=
width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:PM bar:airey from:03/04/1967 till:31/07/1969 color:cmsaf text:"Airey" bar:harlow from:01/08/1969 till:30/09/1971 color:cmsaf text:"Harlow" bar:kisling from:01/10/1971 till:30/09/1973 color:cmsaf text:"Kisling" bar:barnes from:01/10/1973 till:31/07/1977 color:cmsaf text:"Barnes" bar:gaylor from:01/08/1977 till:31/07/1979 color:cmsaf text:"Gaylor" bar:mccoy from:01/08/1979 till:31/07/1981 color:cmsaf text:"McCoy" bar:andrews from:01/08/1981 till:31/07/1983 color:cmsaf text:"Andrews" bar:parish from:01/08/1983 till:30/06/1986 color:cmsaf text:"Parish" bar:binnicker from:01/07/1986 till:31/07/1990 color:cmsaf text:"Binnicker" bar:pfingston from:01/08/1990 till:25/10/1994 color:cmsaf text:"Pfingston" bar:campanale from:26/10/1994 till:01/11/1996 color:cmsaf text:"Campanale" bar:benken from:05/11/1996 till:30/07/1999 color:cmsaf text:"Benken" bar:finch from:31/07/1999 till:28/06/2002 color:cmsaf text:"Finch" bar:murray from:01/07/2002 till:30/06/2006 color:cmsaf text:"Murray" bar:mckinley from:30/06/2006 till:30/06/2009 color:cmsaf text:"McKinley" bar:roy from:01/07/2009 till:24/01/2013 color:cmsaf text:"Roy" bar:cody from:24/01/2013 till:17/02/2017 color:cmsaf text:"Cody" bar:wright from:17/02/2017 till:14/08/2020 color:cmsaf text:"Wright" bar:bass from:14/08/2020 till:08/03/2024 color:cmsaf text:"Bass" bar:flosi from:08/03/2024 till:$now color:cmsaf text:"Flosi"
</timeline>
See alsoEdit
- Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman
- Sergeant Major of the Army
- Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
- Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
- Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force
- Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard
- Senior Enlisted Advisor for the National Guard Bureau
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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