For the first time in U.S. military history, a woman has been selected to serve as the top noncommissioned officer for the Air Force.
On Friday, the Air Force announced that Chief Master Sgt. JoAnne Bass was named the 19th chief master sergeant.
Bass is the first female senior enlisted leader to lead a U.S. military service branch, the Air Force said in a news release.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
Bass’s appointment isn’t the only historic moment for the Air Force this year. The Air Force will also have the military’s first black service chief when Gen. Charles “C.Q.” Brown is sworn in as chief of staff in August.
The Air Force said Brown and Bass “will be responsible for addressing racial disparity in the Air Force.”
Bass currently serves as the command chief master sergeant of the Second Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. Her military career began in 1993. She has served at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina, Ramstein Air Base in Germany, as the command chief master sergeant for the 17th Training Wing at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas and as chief of Air Force Enlisted Developmental Education at the Pentagon.
Bass succeeds Chief Master Sgt. Kaleth Wright.
In her new role, Bass will be the public face of enlisted Air Force members as well as the personal adviser to Brown and Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett on issues related to the welfare, readiness and morale of enlisted personnel.
“I could not be more excited to work side-by-side with Chief Bass,” Brown said in the statement. “She is a proven leader who has performed with distinction at every step of her accomplished career. I have no doubt that Chief Bass will provide wise counsel as we pursue and implement initiatives to develop and empower Airmen at all levels.”
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