JoAnne “JO” Bass didn’t know what a chief master sergeant of the Air Force (CMSAF) was when she enlisted at 18 years old, so becoming one certainly wasn’t her goal from the start.

Within the military, her mentors include Chevy Cleaves; retired Chiefs Willie Applewhite, Shelina Frey, and Margarita Overton; former Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne Bass; and former ...