Chief Master Sergeant Charmaine Kelley is dual-hatted as the Command Chief Master Sergeant for the Air Force District of Washington and the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing, headquartered at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. She is the Senior Enlisted Leader responsible to the Commander on matters concerning the readiness, effective utilization, welfare and professional development of AFDW’s Airmen. AFDW is the Air Force component to the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and is responsible for organizing, training and equipping combat forces for aerospace expeditionary forces, homeland operations, civil support, national special security events and significant ceremonial events. AFDW provides major command level support to over 33,000 military and civilian Airmen worldwide.
Chief Kelley is a native of Columbia, South Carolina where she enlisted at Fort Jackson in August of 1996. She joined immediately following her graduation from high school to fulfill a promise that she had made to her eldest brother, Anthony, upon his untimely death while serving in the United States Navy. Her background includes various leadership positions serving at the directorate, group and major command levels. She has multiple joint service experiences and an eight-month stint as a deployed additional duty First Sergeant in support of Operations NEW DAWN and ENDURING FREEDOM.
Additionally, she had the honor of serving as a member of the Air Force’s showcase entertainment, Tops In Blue.
EDUCATION
2001 Airman Leadership School, Shaw Air Force Base (AFB), S.C.
2003 Associate of Business, Human Resource Management, CCAF, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2005 Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, Limestone College, S.C.
2009 Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Keesler AFB, Miss.
2010 Professional Manager’s Certification CCAF, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2011 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education I, Joint Knowledge Online 2014 United States Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy, Petaluma, Calif.
2017 Chief's Leadership Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2017 Masters of Science, Human Resource Management, Central Michigan University, Mich.
2018 Department of Defense World Wide Human Resources Training, Southbridge, Mass.
2018 Continuous Process Improvement for Senior Leaders Course, Wright- Patterson AFB, Ohio
2018 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education II, Joint Knowledge Online 2019 Command Chief's Course, Andrews AFB, Md.
2020 Senior Enlisted Legal Orientation, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2020 National International Security Leadership Seminar, Alexandria, Va.
2021 Leading Strategically, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Co
2021 Enterprise Perspective Seminar, Washington, DC
2022 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Chapel Hill, NC
ASSIGNMENTS
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November 1996 – December 1998, Records Manager, Passport Agent, 86th Mission Support Squadron, Ramstein Air Base (AB), Germany
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January 1999 – October 2002, Enlisted Retention Specialist, NCOIC, Separations and Retirement, 20th Mission Support Squadron, Shaw Air Force Base (AFB), S.C.
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November 2002 – December 2007, NCOIC, Commander Support Staff, 336th Training Squadron, Fort Jackson, S.C.
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January 2008 – February 2010, Section Chief, Customer Support, Section Chief, Career Development, 11th Mission Support Squadron, Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.
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March 2010 – December 2011, Flight Chief, Military Personnel Flight, Superintendent, Military Personnel Flight, Joint Base (JB) Anacostia-Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.
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January 2012 – December 2015, Superintendent, Force Management Operations, Superintendent, Military Personnel Section, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C. (June 2014 – January 2015, Deployed Additional Duty First Sergeant, 405th Expeditionary Support Squadron)
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January 2016 – August 2017, Superintendent, Knowledge Management Division, Superintendent, Medical and Chaplain Career Management Division, Headquarters Air Force Personnel Center, JB San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
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August 2017 – January 2019, Chief Enlisted Manager of Manpower, Personnel and Services, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
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December 2018 – July 2020, Group Superintendent, 71st Mission Support Group, Vance AFB, Okla. (December 2019 –June 2020, Expeditionary Support Group Superintendent, 378th Air Expeditionary Wing, Prince Sultan AB, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
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July 2020 – November 2021, Command Chief, 437th Airlift Wing, JB Charleston, S.C.
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November 2021- August 2023, Command Chief, 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein AB, Germany
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August 2023 – Present, Command Chief, Air Force District of Washington, Joint Base Andrews, MD
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air and Space Achievement Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1999 Senior Airman Below-the-Zone, Ramstein AB, Germany
20th Fighter Wing Personnel Manager of the Year, Shaw AFB, S.C.
20th Fighter Wing Ten Outstanding Young American Nominee, Shaw AFB, S.C. 2004 81st Training Wing Personnel Manager of the Year, Keesler AFB, Miss.
2005 Pitsenbarger Award (Community College of the Air Force Scholarship)
2009 11th Wing Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.
Commandant and Distinguished Graduate Awards, Noncommissioned Officer Academy
360th Recruiting Group Spouse of the Year
2012 Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Force Support Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Washington, D.C.
2014 Altus Tendo Award (John Levitow equivalent), Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy 2016 North Carolina Magazine Woman of the Year Finalist, Raleigh, N.C.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Chief Master Sergeant November 1, 2017
(Current as of August 2023)