Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
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AFA’s Mississippi Chapters Honor CMSAF Bass
Mississippi State Senate
Outgoing AFA Mississippi State President Len Vernamonti gathered state and national leaders for a virtual ceremony saluting the new Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass for her recent appointment in October. Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and the state senate’s President Pro Tempore Sen. Dean Kirby honored Bass for her past service as command chief of 2nd Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.
“Chief Master Sgt. Bass’ service represents a strong and free America, and for her career of selfless service, a grateful State of Mississippi thanks her,” Hosemann said, reading from the proclamation.
Separately, he added, “You are extended a personal request to come back and join us after you get finished running all of the Air Force personnel throughout the world. … We’d love to have you as a Mississippian.”
Bass reflected on her time in uniform as she thanked Hosemann for honoring her. “Our military careers go by very fast,” she said. “I look back at all the places I’ve been stationed, and I tell you, my two years in Mississippi … was a wonderful opportunity, one because of just the Southern hospitality of the great folks from the state of Mississippi, but two, how much they … love our service members and their families.”
Among those attending the virtual session were AFA Chairman and former CMSAF Gerald Murray; AFA President Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright, USAF (Ret.); Maj. Gen. Andrea D. Tullos, Chief Bass’ former boss at Keesler; Mississippi Air National Guard State Command Chief, Chief Master Sgt. Lynn Cole; and new Mississippi State president, Master Sgt. Chris Gage.
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
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