Command Sergeant Major John D. Gipe retired in 2013 after thirty years of service on active duty and in the Army National Guard.  He served in every Noncommissioned Officer leadership position throughout his career, concluding his service as the ninth Senior Enlisted Advisor assigned to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.  In that capacity, he was responsible for advising the Assistant Secretary and staff on enlisted affairs of the 1.2 million military personnel of the Army and Air National Guard, and the reserves of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.  While serving as the SEA, ASD-RA, his duties also involved the following positions: Chairman of the Department of Defense Reserve Component Senior Enlisted Advisory Council; Senior Enlisted member of the Department of Defense Yellow Ribbon Advisory Council; Senior Enlisted representative on the Department of Defense Freedom Award selection board and a member of the Senior Advisory Board for the 11th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation.

Prior to this assignment, CSM Gipe served as the Command Sergeant Major of the Army National Guard (ARNG) from June, 2005 through July, 2009.  There he served as the principle advisor to the Director of the ARNG regarding Training, Personnel Policy and Family Programs for the 328,000 Enlisted Soldiers of the Army National Guard and their Families.

CSM Gipe’s other assignments include the senior enlisted liaison for the National Guard Bureau on the Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) staff of ARCENT in 2005; and as the 5th State Command Sergeant Major of the Kentucky Army National Guard from 2002-2004.

Command Sergeant Major Gipe began his military career as a Cavalry Scout and served the first nineteen years of his military career in a traditional reserve component status.  During this period he served at every level of enlisted leadership to include Regimental Command Sergeant Major.

CSM Gipe’s military education culminated with his graduation from the U.S. Army Sergeant’s Major Academy in 2002.  His Joint Professional Military Education includes the Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education Course (SEJPME) and the Keystone Course.  His military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal and the Kentucky Distinguished Service Medal.  He has also been awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge, The Army Staff Badge and the Air Assault Badge.