CMSgt Chima O. Ellis is the Command Chief, 315th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. He serves as the commander’s primary advisor regarding the welfare, morale, operational readiness, and discipline of the enlisted force. He is responsible for ensuring assigned units and personnel are properly organized, trained and equipped, and ready to support national security requirements across the full spectrum of operations, from war to contingency situations.
Chief Ellis entered the Air Force in May 1997. He completed Korean language training and subsequently graduated from the Cryptologic Linguist Apprentice course at Goodfellow AFB, TX in January 1999. He served as a Korean Cryptologic Linguist and Radio Telephone Controller at Osan AB, South Korea from February 1999 until April 2000. At this point Chief Ellis was selected for airborne duty as an Airborne Cryptologic Linguist. Chief Ellis became a Career Enlisted Aviator assigned to the 97th Intelligence Squadron (IS), Offutt AFB, NE. In 2004, Chief Ellis left active duty and became an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) for the 97th IS, and then later a traditional reservist (TR) for the newly created 49th IS; a flying Intelligence Squadron within Air Force Reserve Command’s first Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group (ISRG). Chief Ellis’s additional airborne duties have included Datalink Operator (DLO) and Airborne Mission Supervisor (AMS) aboard the RC- 135V/W/S/U, Area Specialist aboard the E-3B/C, and Special Intelligence Operator aboard several light ISR platforms. He’s been deployed with Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and served as a Joint Senior Enlisted Leader (SEL). Chief Ellis has served overseas in South Korea and the United Kingdom. He has also deployed in support of Operation Southern Watch (Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Balad AB, Iraq).
Prior to assuming his current position Chief Ellis served as the Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) to the Command Chief Master Sergeant of the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia
EDUCATION
1997 Basic Korean Language Course, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Presidio of Monterey, California
1998 Cryptologic Linguist Course, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas
2000 Airman Leadership School, Offutt AFB, NE
2010 Associates of Applied Science degree in Communications Applications Technology, Community College of the Air Force
2010 Bachelors of Science in E-Business, Bellevue University, Bellevue, NE
2010 Noncommissioned Officer Academy Correspondence Course
2011 Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy Correspondence Course
2014 Masters of Science in Information Technology, Professional Science Masters Information Assurance Specialization, University of Maryland University College, Adelphi, MD
2015 Senior Enlisted Intelligence Masters Skill Course, Goodfellow AFB, TX
2016 Air Force Reserve Command Senior Noncommissioned Officer Leadership Course, Ft. Worth, TX
2017 Air Force Reserve Command Chief Master Sergeant Orientation Course, Robins AFB, GA
2017 Senior Joint Enlisted Professional Military Education I, Distance Learning
2018 Chief Master Sergeant Leadership Course, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, AL
2019 Senior Joint Enlisted Professional Military Education II, Distance Learning
2020 Reserve Component National Security Course, National Defense University, Washington, DC
2021 Emerging Leader Program, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, Philadelphia, PA
ASSIGNMENTS
May 1997 – July 1997, student, Basic Military Training School, Lackland AFB, TX
July 1997 – August 1998, student, Korean Basic Course, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, Presidio of Monterey CA
August 1998 – January 1999, student, Cryptologic Linguist Course, Goodfellow AFB, TX
February 1999 – April 2000, Cryptologic Linguist, 303rd Intelligence Squadron, Osan AB, South Korea
May 2000 – January 2009, Airborne Cryptologic Linguist, 97th Intelligence Squadron, Offutt AFB, NE
January 2009 – August 2014, Airborne Cryptologic Linguist, 488th Intelligence Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom
August 2014 – November 2016 Operations Superintendent, 49th Intelligence Squadron, Offutt AFB, NE
December 2016 – May 2018, Joint Senior Enlisted Leader/Air Force Element Superintendent, USINDOPACOM JIOC Joint Detachment Fort Worth, NAS Fort Worth JRB, TX
June 2018 – January 2021, IMA to the Command Senior Enlisted Leader, USINDOPACOM JIOC, Pearl Harbor, HI
February 2021 – March 2025, IMA to the Command Chief Master Sergeant, 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis VA
April 2025 – Present, Command Chief, 315th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Charleston, SC
FLYING HOURS
CEA Status: Chief Enlisted Aircrew
Flight Hours: More than 2,400
Aircraft Flown: RC-135V/W/S/U, C208, U-28A, B200C, DHC-7, and E-3B/C
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Air Medal with four bronze oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Airman Basic, May 28, 1997
Airman First Class, July 12, 1997
Senior Airman, November 12, 1999
Staff Sergeant, August 1, 2001
Technical Sergeant, September 1, 2004
Master Sergeant, September 1, 2010
Senior Master Sergeant, May 1, 2013
Chief Master Sergeant, February 1, 2017
(Current as of April 2025)