PacAF NCO tapped as next chief master sergeant of the Air Force

[USMCRET6391]

Air Force Times Staff report

The chief master sergeant for Pacific Air Forces has been tapped to become the next chief master sergeant of the Air Force. Chief Master Sgt. Rodney J. McKinley will move into the top noncommissioned officer job July 1, the day after Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald R. Murray retires.

McKinley will be the 15th NCO to hold the top enlisted job.

“Many talented and qualified chiefs were considered for this position and I have the greatest respect for my peers. To be chosen among them is very humbling.” McKinley said in a press release May 1. “This is an important time in United States history and the United States Air Force. I don’t take this job lightly and promise to do the best I can on behalf of all airmen.”

Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley, who selected McKinley to be his senior enlisted advisor, called him “a tremendous leader with an impressive array of expeditionary and combat experiences to help him steer our airmen and serve as my partner.”

McKinley was named the top NCO of Pacific Air Forces in April 2005; before then he was command chief master sergeant of 11th Air Force, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

McKinley entered the Air Force after high school in 1974, but then took a break in service in 1977 to attend college. He re-entered the Air Force in 1982.