Chief Master Sergeant Heath T. Tempel currently serves as the Senior Enlisted Leader of the Alaskan NORAD Region, Alaskan Command, and the Command Chief Master Sergeant, Eleventh Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf - Richardson, Alaska. He directly supports the missions of providing the Pacific and Northern Command combatant commanders, and Pacific Air Forces’ commander with ready forces and infrastructure for homeland defense, decisive force projection, and defense support to civil authorities, when requested. He facilitates mission requirements and advises the commander on matters of force utilization, morale, and welfare of the Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen and their families assigned throughout the Alaska Joint Operations Area, Hawaii and Guam.
CMSgt Tempel entered the Air Force in December of 1996, completing Explosive Ordnance Disposal training in September of 1997. He has completed multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, accumulating over 3000 hours outside the wire and overseeing the elimination of more than 500 improvised explosive devices. As a CMSgt, he served at a variety of levels, including duty as a Squadron Superintendent, Major Command Functional, Headquarters Sr Enlisted Leader and Wing Command Chief.
Prior to his current position Chief Tempel served as the Command Chief, 96th Test Wing, Air Force Materiel Command, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
EDUCATION
2000 Airman Leadership School, Moody AFB, GA
2008 U.S. Air Force Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Elmendorf AFB, AK
2009 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education I, by distance learning
2009 Professional Manager Certification, Community College of the Air Force
2010 Associates in Applied Science, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Community College of the Air Force
2012 Civil Engineer Squadron Superintendent’s Course, AFIT, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
2012 Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
2016 Senior Enlisted Legal Orientation, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
2017 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education II, by distance learning
2017 Continuous Process Improvement for Executives, Washington D.C.
2018 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Kenan-Flagler Business School, Univ of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2019 Enlisted Professional Military Education Instructor Course, Maxwell-Gunter, AL.
2022 Enterprise Perspective Seminar, Alan L. Freed Associates, Washington D.C.
2023 Keystone Experience, National Defense University, Washington D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Sept 1997 – June 2007, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Craftsman, Moody AFB, Ga. (Sept 2001 - Mar 2002, Deployed Al Udeid AB) (Oct 2002 - Apr 2003, Deployed Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan) (Jul 2005 - Mar 2006, Deployed Balad AB, Iraq)
2. June 2007 – Oct 2012, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight Chief, Eielson AFB, Alaska (Sept 2007 - May 2008, Deployed Kirkuk AB, Iraq) (Aug 2009 - Feb 2010, Deployed Kandahar Province, Afghanistan) (Dec 2010 - Jul 2011, Deployed Talil, Iraq)
3. Oct 2012 – Aug 2014, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Superintendent, Cannon AFB, N.M (Aug 2013 - May 2014, Deployed Kandahar Province, Afghanistan)
4. Aug 2014 – Dec 2015, Superintendent, 27 Special Ops Civil Engineer Squadron, Cannon AFB, N.M.
5. Jan 2016 – Jul 2017, USAFCENT Chief of EOD Forces and USAFCENT Shaw SEL, Shaw AFB, S.C.
6. Jul 2017 – Aug 2019, Command Chief, 435 Air Ground Ops Wg/435 Air Exp Wg, Ramstein AB, Germany
7. Sept 2019 - Sept 2021, Instructor, USAF CMSgt Leadership Course, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, AL (Mar 2020 – Aug 20, Acting Command Chief, Barnes Center for Enlisted Education)
8. Oct 2021 - July 2023 Command Chief, 96th Test Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla.
9. Aug 2023 - Present Command Chief, ANR-ALCOM-11 AF, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with six oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf clusters
Navy Achievement Medal
Army Achievement Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal
Air Force Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2000 Distinguished Graduate, Airman Leadership School
2008 Distinguished Graduate and Commandant’s Award, Noncommissioned Officer Academy
2009 Pacific Air Forces 12 Outstanding Airmen (NCO)
2011 Lance P. Sijan Award (11th AF)
2011 Stryzak Award, Best EOD Flight in Pacific Air Forces (Unit Award)
2012 Distinguished Graduate, Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy
2012 Stryzak Award, Best EOD Flight in Air Force (Unit Award)
2013 CMSgt Larry R. Daniels Award, Outstanding Civil Engineer Superintendent (AF runner-up) 2014 Lance P. Sijan Award (AFSOC)
EFFECTIVE DATE OF PROMOTION
Chief Master Sergeant Dec 2014
(CURRENT AS OF Aug 2023)