Chief Master Sergeant Courtney C. Freeman is the Command Chief, U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center, Joint Base McGuire Dix- Lakehurst, New Jersey. The Expeditionary Center is the Air Force's preeminent authority for expeditionary operations and supports Air Mobility Command’s worldwide mission of providing Rapid Global Mobility to America’s armed forces. With more than 14,000 Airmen, the Expeditionary Center is comprised of the Air Force Expeditionary Operations School and five AMC wings and two stand-alone groups including 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing, 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing, 87th Air Base Wing, 628th Air Base Wing, 621st Contingency Response Wing, 43d Air Mobility Operations Group; and 627th Air Base Group. These units span the globe operating 24/7 in 42 locations across 24 countries providing global air mobility support, installation support, contingency response, and building partnership capacity.
Chief Freeman entered the Air Force in December 1997 and graduated from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, in February 1998 as an Electronic Warfare Systems Apprentice. His background includes various duties in the enlisted aviation arena at the squadron, group, and wing levels. Throughout his career, he has filled a variety of roles to include additional duty First Sergeant and deployed superintendent positions. He has deployed numerous times in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, NEW DAWN, and INHERENT RESLOVE. He is a Chief Enlisted Aircrew member that has held qualifications in the RC-135V /W, C-32B and C-235 aircraft totaling over 4,000 hours including over 1,000 hours of combat time. Prior to his current position, he was the Command Chief, 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida.
EDUCATION
1998 Electronic Warfare Systems Apprentice Course, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.
2002 Airman Leadership School, Offutt AFB, Neb.
2004 Associates in Applied Science, Information Systems Management, Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2006 Noncommissioned Officer Professional Enhancement Course, Offutt AFB, Neb.
2006 Associates in Applied Science, Avionics Systems Technology, Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2006 Bachelor of Science, Business Information Systems Management, Bellevue University, Bellevue, Neb.
2008 USAF Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Gunter Annex, Ala.
2012 USAF Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy (Correspondence)
2012 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Enhancement Course (Correspondence)
2014 United States Naval Senior Enlisted Academy, Newport R.I.
2015 Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy, Joint Special Operations University, MacDill AFB, Fla.
2017 Continuous Process Improvement for Executives, University of N.C., Chapel Hill, N.C.
2017 Chief Leadership Course, Gunter Annex, Ala.
2018 Summit Course, Joint Special Operations University, MacDill AFB, Fla.
2018 Middle East and South Asia Update, Washington D.C.
2019 Enterprise Perspective Seminar, Washington D.C.
2021 Combined Joint Force Special Operations Component Commanders Course, Joint Special Operations University, MacDill AFB, Fla.
2021 National and International Security Leadership Seminar, Washington D.C.
2021 Senior Enlisted Legal Orientation, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2021 Keystone, National Defense University, Ft Leslie J. McNair, Washington D.C.
2021 Transnational Issues Seminar, Washington D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. December 1997 - February 1998, Trainee, Basic Military Training, Lackland AFB, Tx.
2. February 1998 - August 1998, Student, Electronic Warfare Systems Apprentice, Keesler AFB, Miss.
3. August 1998 - September 2000, Electronic Warfare Systems Apprentice, 61 st Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
4. October 2000 - July 2004, Evaluator, Airborne Systems Engineer, 97th Intelligence Squadron, Offutt AFB, Neb.
5. August 2004 - December 2006, Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Airborne Systems Engineer 1 Aircrew
Training, 338th Combat Training Squadron, Offutt AFB, Neb.
6. January 2007 - August 2010, Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Standardization and Evaluation Flight, DATA MASKED
7. August 2010 - August 2013, Special Projects Avionics Manager, 645th Aeronautical Systems Squadron, Greenville, Tx.
8. August 2013 - August 2014, Superintendent, Combat Development Directorate, DATA MASKED
9. August 2014 - January 2017, Squadron Superintendent, DATA MASKED
10. January 2017 - July 2019, Group Superintendent, DATA MASKED
11. July 2019 - August 2020, Command Chief, DATA MASKED
12. August 2020 - June 2022, Command Chief, 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
13. June 2022 - Present, Command Chief, USAF Expeditionary Center, JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster
Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster
Joint Service Achievement Medal with Combat Device
Air Force Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2004 Sensor Olympics Bronze Medalist, Air Intelligence Agency
2004 1A3 Outstanding Operational Warrior of the Year, 8th Air Force
2008 Distinguished Graduate, Gunter Noncommissioned Officer Academy
2008 Commandant's Award, Gunter Noncommissioned Officer Academy
2008 Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Higher Headquarters
2011 Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, 645th AESS
2011 SSgt Henry "Red" Erwin Outstanding Senior Enlisted Aircrew of the Year, AFMC
2013 Air Force Information Operations Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, AFMC
2014 Lance P. Sijan Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, DATA MASKED
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Chief Master Sergeant December, 2016
(Current as of July 2022)