Chief Master Sergeant Sharla A. Kostielney

CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT SHARLA A. KOSTIELNEY

CMSgt Sharla A. Kostielney is the Command Chief Master Sergeant for the “Forward Edge,” 36th Wing at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. As the Command Chief, she serves as the principal enlisted leader to the 36th Wing Commander on all matters affecting the health, welfare, morale, utilization, readiness, training, and professional development for over 8,000 joint military and civilian personnel executing bomber task forces, tanker task forces, theater security packages, contingency response operations, and peacetime and combat operations in the Indo-Pacific. Additionally, Chief Kostielney coordinates with senior military leaders and Guam community partners throughout the Joint Region Marianas to support USPACOM’s multi-service mission partners.

CMSgt Kostielney entered the Air Force in August 1997. She completed Avionic Sensors Maintenance technical training in June 1998 and has performed duties at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom, and Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ as an Avionic Sensors Technician. She then retrained into Personnel in August 2001 where she served at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, Lajes AB, Azores, Portugal, the Air Force Financial Service Center, SD as Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Commander’s Support Staff and Command Chief Executive Assistant; at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, as the Military Personnel Flight Superintendent and Air Force Personnel Center’s Assignments and Force Generation Programs Division Superintendent; and at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam as the 647th Force Support Squadron Senior Enlisted Leader. She served in special duty positions supporting International Affairs at the U.S. Embassy, Ottawa, Canada as the Superintendent, U.S. Air Force Military Personnel Exchange Program, Americas, and at the Defense Attaché Office, U.S. Embassy, The Hague, Netherlands as the Operations Noncommissioned Officer and was the Command Chief for the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. Prior to this assignment, she served as the Senior Enlisted Leader for the Air Force Personnel Center Military and Family Care and Support and Sustainment Directorates.

EDUCATION

2002 Airman Leadership School, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
2008 Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, Peterson AFB, Colo.
2010 Bachelors of Arts with honors, Psychology, University of Arizona Global Campus
2014 Joint Military Attaché School, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington D.C.
2016 Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, Distinguished Graduate, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2017 Masters of Arts, Psychology, University of the Rockies, Denver, Colo.
2022 Chief Leadership Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2022 Senior Enlisted Legal Orientation and Wing Command Team Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2023 Strategic Deterrence Basic Course for Executives, Barksdale AFB, La.
2024 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, Chapel Hill, N.C.
2024 Executive Leadership Program in Managing for Inclusion, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
2024 USAF Leading Strategically, Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), Colorado Springs, Colo.

ASSIGNMENTS

1. June 1998 – June 2000, Avionic Sensors Maintenance Technician, 48th Component Repair Squadron, Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath, United Kingdom
2. June 2000 – August 2001, Avionic Sensors Maintenance Technician, 355th Component Maintenance Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
3. August 2001 – October 2003, Assistant NCOIC, Commander’s Support Staff, 355th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
4. October 2003 – February 2005, NCOIC, Commander’s Support Staff, 755th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
5. February 2005 – October 2005, NCOIC, Commander’s Support Staff, 65th Communication Squadron, Lajes Field Air Base, Azores, Portugal
6. October 2005 – February 2007, Command Chief Executive Assistant, 65th Air Base Wing, Lajes Field AB, Azores, Portugal
7. February 2007 – August 2010, NCOIC, Commander’s Support Staff, Air Force Financial Services Center, Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
8. August 2010 – August 2013, Superintendent, Air Force Military Personnel Exchange Program, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
9. August 2013 – August 2014, Student, Defense Language Institute and Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington D.C.
10. August 2014 – December 2017, Operations NCO, Defense Attaché Office, U.S. Embassy, The Hague, Netherlands
11. December 2017 – October 2019, Superintendent, Military Personnel Flight, 802d Force Support Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Randolph, and Fort Sam Houston, Texas
12. October 2019 – August 2021, Superintendent, Assignments and Force Generation Programs Division, Air Force Personnel Center, JB San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
13. August 2021 – June 2023, Senior Enlisted Leader, 647th Force Support Squadron, JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
14. June 2023 – September 2025, Command Chief, 341st Missile Wing, Malmstrom AFB, Mont.
15. September 2025 – February 2026, Senior Enlisted Leader, Military and Family Care Directorate, Air Force Personnel Center, JB San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
16. February 2026 – August 2026, Senior Enlisted Leader, Military Support and Sustainment Directorate, Air Force Personnel Center, JB San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
17. August 2026 – Present, Command Chief, 36th Wing, Andersen AFB, Guam

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Department of State Meritorious Honor Award
Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Achievement Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

Airman Basic Aug. 27, 1997
Airman Feb. 27, 1998
Airman First Class Dec. 27, 1998
Senior Airman Aug. 27, 2000
Staff Sergeant June 1, 2002
Technical Sergeant June 1, 2006
Master Sergeant Nov. 1, 2011
Senior Master Sergeant June 1, 2017
Chief Master Sergeant March 1, 2021

(Current as of August 2026)