Chief Master Sergeant
Steven D.
Best
Eleventh State Command Chief Master Sergeant, Kentucky Air National Guard
Non-voting advisor to the EANGKY Executive Council under Article V, Section 1(b)
Service
Air transportation
to state command chief.
Chief Best serves as the eleventh State Command Chief Master Sergeant for the Kentucky Air National Guard at Joint Force Headquarters in Frankfort. He assumed the position in April 2025. He advises The Adjutant General and his staff on all matters influencing mission readiness, training, promotion, retention, professional development, utilization, health, morale, welfare, and assignment policy affecting the entire state's enlisted Airmen and their families.
Under Article V, Section 1(b) of the EANGKY By-Laws, the State Command Chief Master Sergeant serves as a non-voting member of the Executive Council in an advisory capacity. Chief Best has taken up the work of reinvigorating joint participation in EANGKY and encouraging Kentucky Air National Guard members to engage in association business.
He enlisted in the Kentucky Air National Guard in February 1998 as an Air Transportation Specialist. In 2002 and 2003 he deployed to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2008 he deployed again, to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, in support of the same operation.
He was selected as First Sergeant for the 123rd Logistics Readiness Squadron in 2010 and was recognized as Kentucky Air National Guard First Sergeant of the Year in 2015. That same year he served as First Sergeant to the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, advising the Squadron Commander and Chiefs on management of personnel assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Airlift Group at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
He returned to the Air Transportation career field in 2016, working across several functional areas including Air Terminal Operations Center Superintendent and Air Terminal Senior Enlisted Leader.
From November 2020 through March 2022, Chief Best led a Facility Administration Support Team across Kentucky in support of COVID-19 pandemic relief, rendering aid to understaffed hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers, and supporting vaccination sites throughout the Commonwealth. Prior to his current position he served as Command Chief Master Sergeant of the 123rd Airlift Wing in Louisville.
The record
Assignments
and education.
Assignments
123rd Aerial Port Squadron, 123rd Airlift Wing, Louisville
123rd Aerial Port Squadron, 123rd Airlift Wing, Louisville
123rd Logistics Readiness Squadron, 123rd Airlift Wing, Louisville
Small Air Terminal, 123rd Logistics Readiness Squadron, Louisville
123rd Logistics Readiness Squadron, 123rd Airlift Wing, Louisville
123rd Airlift Wing, Louisville
Joint Force Headquarters, Kentucky Air National Guard, Frankfort
Military and civilian education
Recognition
Awards and decorations.
Biographical detail drawn from his official United States Air Force biography.