James M . McCoy Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James M . McCoy ( born July 30 , 1930 ) was the sixth Chief Master Sergeant appointed to the highest Non - commissioned officer position in the United States Air Force . Career . Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James M . McCoy was adviser to Secretary of the Air Force Hans Mark and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen . Lew Allen Jr . on matters concerning welfare , effective utilization and progress of the enlisted members of the Air Force . He was the sixth chief master sergeant appointed to this ultimate noncommissioned officer position . Biography . McCoy was born in Creston , Iowa , and he graduated from Maur Hill High School , Atchison , Kansas , in 1948 . He entered the U . S . Air Force in January 1951 after attending St . Benedict ' s College in Atchison and St . Ambrose College in Davenport , Iowa . He received a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Centenary College of Louisiana in 1966 . He is an honor graduate of the Second Air Force Noncommissioned Officer Academy and graduated with the first class of the U . S . Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Gunter Air Force Station , Alabama , in March 1973 . After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base , Texas , McCoy served with the Air Defense Command as a radar operator and instructor until 1956 . He then returned to Lackland to become an instructor in the basic military training program . In 1957 he transferred to Clark Air Base , Philippines , where he served as the base training noncommissioned officer . During the Taiwan crisis of August 1958 he was instrumental in establishing and operating the wing command post which coordinated all inbound combined Air Strike Force aircraft . In 1959 he was assigned as the assistant commandant of cadets , Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps , Detachment 225 , University of Notre Dame , in Indiana . McCoy was assigned in 1960 as commandant , Strategic Air Command Noncommissioned Officer ( NCO ) Preparatory School , 305th Bombardment Wing , Bunker Hill Air Force Base , Ind . Two years later he was selected as an instructor with the Second Air Force NCO Academy at Barksdale Air Force Base , La . He supervised the development of a proposed course of study for noncommissioned officer leadership schools . Prior to the academy ' s closure in 1966 , he had become the academy ' s sergeant major . In April 1966 McCoy was assigned as chief , training branch , deputy chief of staff for personnel , Headquarters Second Air Force , where he was responsible for the command ' s on - the - job training and special training programs . He transferred to Headquarters Strategic Air Command in June 1967 where he was the noncommissioned officer professional military education monitor for the deputy chief of staff , personnel . While there , he established and monitored the SAC Noncommissioned Officer Academy and Noncommissioned Officer Leadership School programs . In 1970 Chief McCoy transferred to the 41st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing , Hickam Air Force Base , Hawaii , as noncommissioned officer in charge of operations training . He supervised and monitored all training programs for the H - 3 , H - 43 , H - 53 and HC - 130 aircraft crews assigned to wing units throughout the Pacific and Southeast Asia . As an additional duty , he served as senior enlisted adviser to the wing commander . Chief McCoy was assigned in April 1973 as chief , military training branch ; deputy chief of staff , personnel ; Headquarters Pacific Air Forces . He revitalized the on - the - job training program and represented the command at several worldwide conferences which helped improve Air Force - wide training programs . During this assignment , he was selected as one of the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Air Force in 1974 . Returning to the Strategic Air Command in March 1975 , Chief McCoy became its first senior enlisted adviser . During this period he served as the personal representative of the commander in chief to the enlisted men and women of the command . In addition to traveling extensively throughout the command , he also served as chairman of two worldwide senior enlisted adviser conferences for the Air Force Association . Their efforts helped identify issues affecting quality of Air Force life . McCoy served in the position of Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force from August 1979 to July 1981 . Post - career . Active in many business and civic organizations he has served on several councils and board of directors in the Omaha , Nebraska - area and on the national level . He has served two terms as the Air Force Association national president and two terms as its chairman of the board .