U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Joshua K. McComas was born in Kenton, Ohio; entered the Army in October, 2001; attended One-Station Unit Training at Fort Moore, Georgia and earned the military occupational specialty of 11B: Infantryman. McComas’s previous duty positions include C Co, 2-27 IN “Wolfhounds” where he served as an assistant gunner, gunner and rifle team leader, and squad leader deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom for 12 months (2004-2005) to Paktika Providence, Afghanistan and deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for 15 months (2006-2007) to Hawijah, Iraq. From 2008-2011 as a sergeant first class, McComas served as an instructor at the Infantry Officer Basic Leaders Course (IBOLC) in Fort Moore. McComas’s next assignment was B Co 2-1 IN “Legion” at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (2011-2015) where he deployed to the Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan in 2009. Upon redeployment, McComas graduated from the United States Army Drill Sergeants Academy with the follow-on assignment for Fort Moore, Georgia. McComas served as a drill sergeant and senior drill sergeant in A Co., 2-54 for a year until selected to serve as the first sergeant of D Co., 2-54 for an additional two years. Upon completion of that assignment, McComas served as the first sergeant for B Co., 1-187 “Leader Rakkasan” at Fort Campbell, Kentucky from October 2018 until September 2019, when he was selected to serve as the 1-187 “Leader Rakkasan” headquarters and headquarters company first sergeant.
McComas next served as the 11th Airborne Division G33 Operations NCO for one year, and the 11th Airborne Division G 3-5 (Plans and Operations) sergeant major at JBER, Alaska.
McComas is a graduate of Basic Leader Course (BLC), Advanced Leaders Course (ALC), Senior Leader Course (SLC), Sergeants Major Academy, Unites States Drill Sergeant Academy, Air Assault School, Modern Combatives Levels 1and 2, Equal Opportunity Leaders Course, Stryker Leaders Course, Army Short-Range Marksmanship Course, Tactics Certification Course and Army Basic Instructor Course.
McComas’s awards and decorations include a Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart (1 OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (4 OLC), Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (6 OLC), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal (2 campaign stars), Iraq Campaign Service Medal (2 campaign stars), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, NATO Medal, Meritorious Unit Award (1OLC), Army Good Conduct Medal (7th award), NCO Professional Development Ribbon (numeral 3), Overseas Service Ribbon (numeral 4), Drill Sergeant Identification Badge, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Air Assault Badge, and the Order of St Maurice.