ninja sends this article from Stars and Stripes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Capt. Candice Bowen took command of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, last month. She is one of the first black women to take command of a rifle company in the National Guard and the first female infantry commander in Virginia. The company\u2019s history traces back to Confederate general Stonewall Jackson\u2019s brigade.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n Bowen, 31, commissioned as a military police officer in 2012. She deployed to Qatar with 3rd Battalion in 2016 and after her return, immediately went to Afghanistan with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, where she earned her combat action badge. She made the switch to infantry in 2019 after Virginia scaled-down military police forces.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n Capt. Amie Kemppainen, an Iraq War veteran, 46, took command of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, in March. She is the first woman in the Michigan National Guard to command an infantry company. She joined the infantry after 25 years of service in support units.<\/p>\n \u201cI probably wasn\u2019t what people thought would be the ideal candidate. Physically, you\u2019ve got to hold your own, male or female, and lead from the front,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Some impressive ladies. Takes a brave soul to jump into leading an infantry company in your mid-40s.<\/p>\n AF.mil reports<\/a> on Friday’s ascension of General Charles Q. (CQ) Brown to the position of CSAF. He’s the first black person to serve as the chief of staff of a service branch (though Colin Powell served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he never held the position of Chief of Staff of the Army).<\/p>\n General Brown’s CV shows he’s a career Viper (F-16) driver with 2,900 hours behind (or beside in the case of the 16) the stick, including 130 combat hours. He’s served in a variety of assignments including tours in Korea, Germany, and Italy.<\/p>\n Good luck in the new job, General.<\/p>\nBrown formally installed as 22nd Air Force Chief of Staff<\/h2>\n
CMSgt Bass installed as the Air Force\u2019s 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force<\/h2>\n