Chief Master Sergeant Jason Q. Shaffer serves as the Command Chief Master Sergeant, 56th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base (AFB), Arizona. The wing’s mission is to train the world’s greatest fighter pilots and combat-ready Airmen. As part of Air Education and Training Command, and home to 26 Squadrons with F-35A Lightning II and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, the 56th is the largest fighter wing in the U.S. Air Force with over $13 Billion in aircraft and 7,000 total force personnel. The wing graduates more than 200 F-35A pilots, 30 F-16 pilots, and 270 air control professionals annually. The 56th Fighter Wing also supports the F-15C Formal Training Unit based at Klamath Falls, Ore., which produces over 20 graduates annually. Additionally, the 56th Fighter Wing manages the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field and is steward of the Barry M. Goldwater Range, a military training range spanning more than one million acres of the Sonoran Desert.
Chief Shaffer is originally from Atlanta, Georgia and entered the Air Force in March, 2000 as a Security Forces member. His background includes experience at varying levels in the Security Forces career field at the squadron, joint and command level. Chief Shaffer has taken part in multiple POTUS support missions and has deployed in support of numerous humanitarian, contingency and combat operations in Africa, Europe, Middle East, South Asia and Pacific regions. He is a certified Senior Parachutist who has earned the German, Serbian, Belgian, French and Bosnian parachutist badges. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as the Command Chief, 88th Air Base Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
EDUCATION
2004 Airman Leadership School, Hurlburt Field, FL
2004 Phoenix Raven Qualification Course, Fort Dix, NJ
2004 Associate Degree, Criminal Justice, Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell AFB, AL
2006 SOF Patrol Medic Course, Intl. Special Training Center, NATO, Phullendorf, GE
2008 Army Airborne Course, Fort Benning, GA
2008 Army Sniper Course, Grafenwoehr, GE
2009 Army Jumpmaster Course, Fort Benning, GA
2009 Bachelors of Arts, Political Science, Troy University, AL
2010 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education I, Correspondence
2012 Noncommissioned Officer Academy, JBSA-Lackland AFB, TX
2012 Contemporary Insurgent Warfare Course, Cannon AFB, NM
2013 Special Operations Forces Command and Control Course, Hurlburt Field, FL
2015 SAPD Basic Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Course, San Antonio, TX
2015 Professional Managers Certification, Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell AFB, AL
2015 Masters of Arts, Homeland Security, American Military University
2015 Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell AFB Gunter Annex, AL
2017 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education II, Correspondence
2017 Integrated Defense Command and Control Course, JBSA-Lackland, TX
2018 Chiefs Leadership Course, Maxwell AFB, AL
2019 Command Chief Master Sergeant Training Course, Joint Base Andrews, MD
2020 Senior Enlisted Legal Orientation, Maxwell AFB, AL
2021 USAF Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC, Chapel Hill, NC
2021 Globalism vs. Sovereignty Seminar, Alan L. Freed Associates, Inc., Washington, D.C.
2021 Leading Strategically, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, CO
2021 Resiliency Building Leadership Professional-Trainer, Resilience-Building Leader Prgm, Burbank, Ca
2023 Artificial Intelligence for National Security, MIT, Boston, MA
2023 Keystone Command Senior Enlisted Leader Course, National Defense University, Washington D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. March—August 2000, Trainee, 322 TRS/343 TRS, Lackland AFB, Texas
2. August 2000—February 2006, Patrolman/Elite Guard/NCOIC, Reports & Analysis, 16 SFS, Hurlburt Field, FL (September 2001 – October 2001, Fire Team Member, 16 ESOW, Location Data Masked; January 2004 – May 2004, Fire Team Member, 16 ESOW, Al Udied, Qatar; January 2005 – April 2005, Area Supervisor, 16 ESOW, Balad, Iraq)
3. February 2006—May 2010, Instructor/UE&TM/NCOIC, CSS, 786 SFS, Sembach AB, GE
(September 2007 – October 2007, Fly Away Security Team Member, 86 CRG, Kigali, Rwanda; September 2008 – December 2008, TOC NCOIC, 357 AMD, Nevatim Air Base, Israel)
4. May 2010—August 2011, Military Security Forces Team Leader, Joint Staff, Pentagon
5. August 2011—September 2014, Flight Chief/NCOIC, Stan/Eval, 27 SOSFS, Cannon, NM
(May 2012 – September 2012, Deployed Security Coordinator, CJSOAD-A, Kandahar, Afghanistan; January 2014 – June 2014, NCOIC, Force Protection, CJSOAC-A, Bagram, Afghanistan)
6. September 2014—July 2015, Section Chief, Mobility and Logistics, 802 SFS, JBSA-LAK, TX
7. July 2015—June 2017, Operations Superintendent, 343 TRS, JBSA-LAK, TX
8. June 2017—April 2018, Operations & Training Superintendent, 8 SFS, Kunsan Air Base, RoK
9. April 2018—Jun 2020, Security Forces Manager, 6 SFS, MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL
(Apr 2020—Jun 2020, Superintendent, 6 MSG, MacDill AFB, FL)
10. July 2020—July 2022, Command Chief, 88 ABW, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
11. Aug 2022—Present, Command Chief, 56 FW, Luke AFB, AZ
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
AF Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
AF Achievement Medal with one oak leaf clusters
Army Achievement Medal
Air Force Recognition Ribbon
Iraq Campaign Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Korean Defense Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal
NATO Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2002 AFSOC Outstanding Security Forces Flight Level Airman of the Year
2004 Distinguished Graduate and Leadership Award, ALS
2010 Joint Staff Service Member of the Year
2012 Commandants Award, NCOA
2012 Air Commando Association AFSOC Commanders Leadership Award
2013 AFSOC Senior Enlisted Lance P. Sijan Award
2013 Air Force Outstanding Security Forces Flight Level SNCO of the Year
2015 Distinguished Graduate, AFSNCOA
2018 Air Force Outstanding Large Security Forces Unit Award
EFFECTIVE DATE OF PROMOTION
Chief Master Sergeant, Nov 1, 2018
(Current as of 1 Jan 2023)