Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force

The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Air Force. The holder of this rank and post represents the highest enlisted level of leadership in the Air Force, and as such, provides direction for the enlisted corps and represents their interests,...

 Sam E. Parish (born October 2, 1937) was the eighth Chief Master Sergeant

Chief Master Sergeant

CMSgt ChevronChief Master Sergeant 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...

 appointed to the highest Non-commissioned officer

Non-commissioned officer

A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...

 position in the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

.

Chief Parish was born in Marianna, Florida

Marianna, Florida

Marianna is a city in Jackson County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,230 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,200 . It is the county seat of Jackson County and is home to Chipola College...

, and attended Malone High School. He joined the US Air Force in December 1954. Following basic military training

Recruit training

Recruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...

, he was assigned to Chanute Air Force Base

Chanute Air Force Base

Chanute Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located south of and adjacent to Rantoul, Illinois, about south of Chicago. Its primary mission throughout its existence was Air Force technical training....

, Illinois, for training as a ground weather equipment operator where earned distinction as an honor graduate. His early assignments include Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, and Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. In March 1973, Chief Parish graduated from the first class of the Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Gunter Air Force Station, Alabama

Gunter Air Force Base

Gunter Annex is a United States Air Force installation located in the North-northeast suburbs of Montgomery, Alabama. The base is named after former Montgomery mayor William Adams Gunter. Until 1992 it was known as Gunter Air Force Base or Gunter Air Force Station...

. One of his classmates was James M. McCoy

James M. McCoy

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James M. McCoy was the sixth Chief Master Sergeant appointed to the highest Non-commissioned officer position in the United States Air Force.-Career:...

, who in August 1979 would be appointed as one of Chief Parish's predecessors, the sixth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. In August 1976, he began his third tour of duty in West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 as Sergeant Major for the 36th Combat Support Group consolidated base personnel office at Bitburg Air Base

Bitburg Air Base

Bitburg Airport is a commercial airport serving Bitburg, a city in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. It is located 2 miles southeast of Bitburg, 20 miles north of Trier, and 135 miles west of Wiesbaden....

, Germany. His career includes tours as Senior Enlisted Advisor for 40th Air Division, US Air Forces in Europe, and Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...

.

CMSAF Parish served as the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force from August 1983 to June 1986.

To this day, CMSAF continues to travel around the world as well as speaking for ALS (Airman Leadership School for up-and-coming Staff Sergeants) around the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area.

Major awards and decorations

Succession