The Air Force will have a new top enlisted leader come February — Chief Master Sgt. Kaleth Wright.
Wright was announced as the 18th chief master sergeant of the Air Force in November. He will succeed the current chief, James Cody, when he retires.
Wright comes from the dental career field, and has been a command chief four times, most recently at U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Africa.
Airmen who served with Wright described him as a leader who cares about his airmen and pushes them to develop new and hidden skills, as well as being someone who leads by example — even to the point of repairing planes side-by-side with his maintainers to learn what they do.
And they said Wright — a former professional military education instructor — is someone who feels very strongly that airmen should focus on education to improve themselves. One colonel who previously served with Wright said education could be an area he focuses on as CMSAF.
Wright has not yet spoken with the press.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
