Chief Master Sergeant

CMSgt Chevron
(1994–present)

Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt) is the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force, just above Senior Master Sergeant, and is a senior non-commissioned officer. The official term of address is "Chief Master Sergeant" or "Chief".

Attaining the rank of Chief Master Sergeant is the pinnacle of an Air Force enlisted member's career. Some Chief Master Sergeants manage the efforts of all enlisted personnel within their unit or major subsection thereof, while others run major staff functions at higher headquarters levels. All Chief Master Sergeants are expected to serve as mentors for company-grade and field-grade commissioned officers, as well as noncommissioned officers and junior enlisted members, and to serve as advisors to unit commanders and senior officers.

By federal law, only one percent of the Air Force enlisted force may hold the rank of Chief Master Sergeant.^{[citation needed]}

Special duty positions

E-9 First Sergeant insignia

CCM insignia
(1998–present)

CMSAF Chevron
(Nov 2004–present)

First Sergeant

The special duty position of First Sergeant is the senior enlisted advisor to a unit commander. First Sergeants can be of pay grades E-7 to E-9; while they are referred to officially as "First Sergeant" regardless of their pay grade, they are unofficially referred to as "First Shirt", or simply "The Shirt".

Command Chief Master Sergeant

The position of Command Chief Master Sergeant (CCM) was renamed in November 1998. Formerly titled Senior Enlisted Advisor, Command Chief Master Sergeants serve as senior advisors to commanders at Wing, Numbered Air Force (NAF), Field Operating Agency (FOA), and Major Command (MAJCOM) levels. In a Joint command, when an Air Force Chief Master Sergeant fills a DoD-nominative Command Senior Enlisted Leader position (see Note), that individual is also designated as a Command Chief Master Sergeant. Command Chiefs advise the Commander on all enlisted matters, including all issues affecting the command's mission and operations, and the readiness, training, utilization, morale, technical and professional development, and quality of life of all enlisted members in the organization. Command Chiefs are the functional managers for First Sergeants in their entire command/organization.

Historical notes

Obsolete
CMSgt Chevron
(1958–1994)

Although the Air Force had been an independent service since 1947, the rank of Chief Master Sergeant did not come into being until the authorization of the Military Pay Act of 1958. This act established the pay grades of E-8 and E-9, but without specifying titles for those pay grades. It wasn't until late 1958 that the title of Chief Master Sergeant (and the accompanying rank insignia) was decided upon.

The original Chief Master Sergeant rank insignia (1958–1994) consisted of 2 chevrons on top, 3 stripes in the middle, and 3 rockers on bottom.

Until his retirement in 2003, Chief Master Sergeant Norman Marous was the Air Force's most senior Chief Master Sergeant, having served in the Air Force since 1962. Marous left active duty in 1962 to spend 22 years in the USAF Reserve and National Guard before returning to active duty as a Chief Master Sergeant in 1989.

See also

• Sergeant
• United States Military Pay

References

• Air Force Instruction 36-2618, The Enlisted Force Structure
• Technical Sergeant Spink, Barry L. "A Chronology of the Enlisted Rank Chevron of the United States Air Force, 19 February 1992." Air Force Historical Research Agency.