Air National Guard Senior Enlisted Leader
Command Chief Master Sergeant Stephen Nolan
Chief Master Sergeant Stephen C. Nolan serves as Command Chief for the Washington Air National Guard. He is the principal advisor to the Assistant
Adjutant General for Air on all matters of health, morale, welfare, readiness, training and utilization for over 2100 Airmen and Civilians. Additionally, he provides the leadership with the enlisted perspective on strategic vision, goals and objectives, and enlisted professional development. The Washington Air National Guard is comprised of kinetic and non-kinetic missions involving air refueling, special warfare, intelligence, cyber and air defense.
Chief Nolan entered the Air Force in January 1988. He graduated from the Wideband Communications Course at Keesler AFB, MS, in Feb 1989. He
served in the 143rd Combat Communications Squadron located at Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington serving in a variety of roles, ranging from Wideband Communications Specialist to TRC-170 Team Chief. He transferred to the 111th Air Support Operations Squadron as TRC-170 Team Chief, Tri-Tac Radio NCOIC, Satellite/Wideband & Telemetry NCOIC, Communications Systems and Mission Systems Superintendent.
From 2005-2008 he served as a Traditional Guardsmen First Sergeant for the 262nd Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron on McChord AFB. Additionally, in 2004 Chief Nolan deployed to Bagram and Kandahar Air Bases, Afghanistan, then returned in 2012 to Kabul Air Field in Afghanistan to support the war on terrorism on the 111 ASOS ADVON team. As a National Guardsman, he has deployed numerous times to support wildfires, floods, hurricanes, civil disturbances and other times when Washington and the country were in need. Prior to his current position, Chief
Nolan was the Command Chief for the 194th Wing at Camp Murray, Washington.
EDUCATION
1992 Airman Leadership School, McGhee-Tyson ANGB, Tennessee, In-residence
1992 CCAF Maxwell AFB, AL AAS Electronic SYS Tech (Online)
1996 Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, McGhee-Tyson ANGB, Tennessee, In-residence
1999 Associates in Applied Science, Computer Science, Pierce College, Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington
2004 Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, Gunter Annex, Alabama, in-residence
2006 USAF First Sergeants Academy, Gunter Annex, Alabama, in-residence
2007 CCAF, Maxwell AFB AAS, Human Resource Management (Online)
2009 Joint Firepower Course, Nellis AFB, Nevada
2011 John Maxwell 360 Degree Leader Course, Camp Murray, Washington
2012 Joint Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Course I, by correspondence
2014 Lean for Leaders Course, Camp Murray, Washington
2016 Leadership Challenge Program, Camp Murray, Washington
2016 Joint Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Course II, by correspondence
2016 ANG Chief Executive Course, Andrews AFB, Virginia
2019 Leadership Challenge Program II, Camp Murray, Washington
2019 Bachelor of Arts, Organizational Leadership, Brandman University, Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington
2023 Air National Guard Command Chief Course, Joint Base San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
2023 Contemporary Base Issues Course, North Kingstown, Rhode Island
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1988 – August 1988, Student, Basic Military Training, Lackland AFB, Texas
2. August 1988 – February 1989, Student, Technical Training School, Keesler AFB, Mississippi
3. February 1989 – September 1994, Wideband Communications Specialist, 143rd CBCS, Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington
4. September 1994 – May 1997, TRC Team Chief, 111 ASOC, Camp Murray, Washington
5. May 1997 – February 2001, Assistant NCOIC, TRITAC Radio, 111 ASOC, Camp Murray, Washington
6. Feb 2001 – November 2005, NCOIC, Satellite, Wideband & Telemetry, 111 ASOC, Camp Murray, Washington
7. Nov 2005 – February 2008, First Sergeant, 262 IWAS, McChord AFB, Washington
8. February 2008 – April 2008, Comm Systems Superintendent, 111 ASOS, Camp Murray, Washington
9. April 2008 – June 2015, Mission Systems Superintendent, 111 ASOS, Camp Murray, Washington
10. June 2015 – July 2020, Squadron Superintendent, 143rd Information Operations Squadron, Camp Murray, Washington
11. July 2020 – 10 September 2022, Senior Enlisted Leader, 194th Mission Support Group, Camp Murray, Washington
12. 11 September 2022 – 7 September 2024, 194th Wing Command Chief, Camp Murray, Washington
13. 8 September 2024 – Present, Command Chief, Washington Air National Guard, Camp Murray, Washington
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with 3 Devices
Air and Space Commendation Medal with 1 Device
Air and Space Achievement Medal
Army Achievement Medal
Combat Readiness Medal with 1 Device
Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal with 10 Devices
National Defense Medal with 1 Device
AF Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal with one Device
Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal
USAF PME Ribbon with 2 Devices
Small Arms Expert Marksman Ribbon with 1 Device
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
111th ASOS SNCO of the Quarter, September-November 2013
111th ASOS SNCO of the Quarter, June-August 2012
194th ASOG SNCO of the Year 2010
194th RSW SNCO of the Year 2008
WA State SNCO of the Year 2004
EFFECTIVE DATE OF PROMOTION
Airman First Class Dec. 20, 1988
Senior Airman Oct. 10, 1990
Staff Sergeant Jan. 09, 1993
Technical Sergeant Jan. 13, 1995
Master Sergeant July 27, 2000
Senior Master Sergeant Jan. 29, 2009
Chief Master Sergeant Nov. 13, 2015
(Current as of September 2024)
Former Washington Air National Guard Senior Enlisted Leader
CMSgt Ken Huff
CMSgt Charles Haley
CMSgt Tim Tyvan
CMSgt Trish Almond, May 2013 - September 2015
CMSgt Max Tidwell, October 2015 - August 2019
CMSgt Marvin Boyd, August 2019 - September 2022
CMSgt Allan Lawson, September 2022 - September 2024