Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Incumbent CMSAF James A. Cody since January 24, 2013
Formation	April 3, 1967
First holder	Paul W. Airey
Website	Official Website

The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (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, and as such, 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 one exception to the status of the CMSAF as the highest-ranking enlisted member of the Air Force, which has yet to occur, is when an Air Force sergeant is serving as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this instance, the SEAC would outrank the CMSAF. 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. While the CMSAF is a non-commissioned officer, the billet is protocol equivalent to a lieutenant general.^[1]

The current Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force is Chief James A. Cody. He is the 17th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force in the history of the U.S. Air Force.

The CMSAF collects a base salary of 7,894.50 a month.^[2]

Rank Insignia and Positional Colors

On November 1, 2004,^[3] the CMSAF's rank insignia was updated to include the Great Seal of the United States of America and two stars in the upper field. This puts the insignia in line with those of the Army and Marine Corps who 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. The Sergeant Major of the Army wears an identical cap device, albeit of gold-colored metal.^[4]

The Sergeant Major of the Army, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force 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). First considered in 1992,^[5] the SMA's color has been authorized since 22 March 1999.^[6] The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force colors were authorized in January 2013.^[7]

The official term of address for the CMSAF is "Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force" or "Chief."^[8]

• CMSAF insignia timeline
• 

  1967–1991

• 

  1991–2004

• 

  2004-present

Chief Master Sergeants of the Air Force

#	Picture	Name	Tenure from	Tenure to
1		Airey Paul W. Airey	01967-04-03-0000April 3, 1967	01969-07-31-0000July 31, 1969
2		Harlow Donald L. Harlow	01969-08-01-0000August 1, 1969	01971-09-30-0000September 30, 1971
3		Kisling Richard D. Kisling	01971-10-01-0000October 1, 1971	01973-09-30-0000September 30, 1973
4		Barnes Thomas N. Barnes	01973-10-01-0000October 1, 1973	01977-07-31-0000July 31, 1977
5		Gaylor Robert D. Gaylor	01977-08-01-0000August 1, 1977	01979-07-31-0000July 31, 1979
6		Puckett James M. McCoy	01979-08-01-0000August 1, 1979	01981-07-31-0000July 31, 1981
7		Andrews Arthur L. Andrews	01981-08-01-0000August 1, 1981	01983-07-31-0000July 31, 1983
8		Parish Sam E. Parish	01983-08-01-0000August 1, 1983	01986-06-30-0000June 30, 1986
9		Binnicker James C. Binnicker	01986-07-01-0000July 1, 1986	01990-07-31-0000July 31, 1990
10		Pfingston Gary R. Pfingston	01990-08-01-0000August 1, 1990	01994-10-25-0000October 25, 1994
11		Campanale David J. Campanale	01994-10-26-0000October 26, 1994	01996-11-01-0000November 1, 1996
12		Benken Eric W. Benken	01996-11-05-0000November 5, 1996	01999-07-30-0000July 30, 1999
13		Finch Frederick J. Finch	01999-07-31-0000July 31, 1999	02002-06-28-0000June 28, 2002
14		Murray Gerald R. Murray	02002-07-01-0000July 1, 2002	02006-06-30-0000June 30, 2006
15		McKinley Rodney J. McKinley	02006-06-30-0000June 30, 2006	02009-06-30-0000June 30, 2009
16		Roy James A. Roy	02009-07-01-0000July 1, 2009	02013-01-24-0000January 24, 2013
17		Cody James A. Cody	02013-01-24-0000January 24, 2013	Present

See also

• Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Sergeant Major of the Army
• Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
• Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
• Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard
• Senior Enlisted Advisor for the National Guard Bureau

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chief Master Sergeants of the United States Air Force.

United States enlisted ranks
Pay grade → Branch of service ↓	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8	E-9
Air Force	AB	Amn	A1C	SrA	SSgt	TSgt	MSgt - 1st Sgt	SMSgt - 1st Sgt	CMSgt - 1st Sgt - CCM - CMSAF
Army	PVT	PV2	PFC	SPC - CPL	SGT	SSG	SFC	MSG - 1SG	SGM - CSM - SMA
Marine Corps	Pvt	PFC	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	SSgt	GySgt	MSgt - 1stSgt	MGySgt - SgtMaj - SgtMajMarCor
Navy	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMDCM - FORCM, FLTCM - MCPON
Coast Guard	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMC - Area CMC, CGRF-MC - MCPOCG

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