Best named top enlisted leader of Kentucky Air National Guard

  • Published
  • By Dale Greer
  • 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --  Chief Master Sgt. Steven Best officially assumed the post of state command chief for the Kentucky Air National Guard during a ceremony here April 13.

Best previously served since 2022 as command chief of the Kentucky Air Guard’s main operational unit, the Louisville-based 123rd Airlift Wing. With his new appointment to Joint Force Headquarters-Kentucky, Best is now the senior-most enlisted leader in the Kentucky Air Guard.

Brig. Gen. Bruce Bancroft, assistant adjutant general for Air, praised Best’s commitment to Kentucky Guard Airmen, having seen it first-hand while the two worked closely together when Bancroft served as wing commander from 2021 to 2024.

“The bonds and friendship we developed over those years as a command team have been a highlight of my career,” Bancroft said. “Chief Best’s engagement with our incredible enlisted force is unparalleled, and I look forward to working with him at the next level of state leadership.

“We’re in the business of building and maintaining long-term relationships ­— across the Commonwealth, across the National Guard and across the globe. Chief Best is exactly the person you want in that role.”

As state command chief, Best advises the adjutant general and his staff on all matters influencing mission readiness, training, promotion, retention, professional development, utilization, health, morale, welfare and assignment policy affecting Kentucky’s enlisted Airmen and their families.

Best enlisted in the Kentucky Air National Guard in February 1998 as an air transportation specialist. In 2002 and 2003, he deployed to Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and in 2008 to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

He was selected as the 123rd Logistics Readiness Squadron’s first sergeant in 2010 and was recognized as the Kentucky Air National Guard First Sergeant of the Year in 2015. Best also served as first sergeant for the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron in 2015, assisting the commander with management of personnel assigned to Al Udeid Air Base. He returned to the Air Transportation career field in 2016 in various functional areas, including Air Terminal Operations Center superintendent and senior enlisted leader.

From November 2020 through March 2022, Best was instrumental in providing COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts, leading a Facility Administration Support Team throughout the state of Kentucky that rendered aid to understaffed hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers, and supported various vaccination sites.

As the newest state command chief, Best now succeeds Chief Master Sgt. James Tongate, who has retired after 33 years of military service.

“Airmen and their families are paramount to the success of the Kentucky Air National Guard,” Best said, speaking to an audience of friends, family and coworkers at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base. “Ensuring our members are prepared for operations, both domestic and abroad, is my primary focus. It's an honor to have served for the past 27 years, and I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Kentucky and the citizens of our great nation.”

Chief Master Sgt. Blair Bearny, pararescue senior enlisted leader for the Kentucky Air Guard’s 123rd Special Tactics Squadron, has been named to replace Best as wing command chief.