Colonel COLONEL ANDREW HALSEY BLACK Colonel Andrew Halsey Black serves as the Commander, 43d Air Mobility Operations Group, Pope Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, NC. He leads a unique stand-alone, wing-equivalent group responsible for rapid strategic deployment of forces in support of the nation’s Immediate Response Force and National Mission Force and providing combat training & readiness for Joint and MAF partners. He also serves as the Senior Air Force Liaison Officer to the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg Installation Garrison Commanders. Comprised of over 750 personnel and eight Squadrons spanning three operating locations, the 43d Air Mobility Operations Group supports more than 2,700 Airmen and civilians across five Major Commands. The group is prepared to meet short-notice, humanitarian, and worldwide mobility taskings to secure national objectives. Furthermore, the group provides combatant commanders with Airborne Joint Forcible Entry, combat airlift, aerial port, command and control, as well as other enabling capabilities. Col Black was commissioned into the Air Force via the Reserve Officer Training Corps in May 2000. He graduated from Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training in 2002 and became a C-130 pilot. In 2007, Col Black served as an Air Mobility Liaison Officer (AMLO). During this tour, he stood up the first U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) AMLO billet where he was certified as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller. He then pioneered the first deployment on behalf of MARSOC and Air Mobility Command to the Combined-Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan. Following this tour, he was reassigned back to Pope Air Force Base in January 2010. Next, he deployed as the Detachment Commander for Pope Forward, leading forty C-130 operations, maintenance, and support personnel in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Upon his return to garrison, he was selected for Chief of Pope Combined Command Post overseeing a 55-person agency consisting of Active Duty Air Force, Army, Reserve Air Force and Department of Defense civilian personnel. As Chief, he led command and control, airlift operations from a National Strategic Platform, readiness reporting and key information flow in support of five Air Force Warfighting Partners and the U.S. Army and nine Major Commands. In 2012, Col Black served in a selectively manned interagency capacity as Assistant Air Attaché to Pakistan. At the completion of that tour, Col Black served as a USTRANSCOM-directed Joint Manpower Exchange Program officer assigned to U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia as the Director, MSC Plans, Strategy, and Wargames. As director, he led the command’s maritime global planning efforts for 9,500 personnel and 140-vessels across more than twenty mission-sets in support of ten Combatant Commands and the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Forces and U.S. Pacific Fleet. Next, Col Black led in a Total Force Integrated role as Commander, 349th Operations Support Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, California. Prior to his current assignment, Col Black served with Industry as a Secretary of Defense Executive Fellow at General Atomics – Aeronautical Systems, Inc in Poway, California. EDUCATION 2000 Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C 2006 Flight Safety Officer’s Course, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mex. 2007 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala, in residence and by correspondence 2008 Joint Special Operations Staff Officer’s Course, Joint Special Operations University, MacDill Air Force Base, FL 2010 Advanced Instrument School, Oklahoma City, Okla. 2011 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala, by correspondence 2012 Master of Arts degree in Education – Leadership and Administration, Trident University International 2012 Joint PME II, Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University, Norfolk, Va. 2014 Master of Science degree in International Relations, Troy University 2018 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala, by correspondence 2022 Secretary of Defense Executive Fellowship, Air War College, General Atomics – Aeronautical Systems, Inc, Poway, Cal. ASSIGNMENTS 1. July 2000–March 2001: Special Projects Officer, 336th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. 2. March 2001–April 2002: Student, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, 41st Flying Training Squadron, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss. 3. May 2002–November 2002: Student, C-130 Formal Training Unit, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. 4. November 2002-November 2004: Pilot, C-130E/Squadron Chief of Mobility, 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan 5. November 2004–March 2005: Student, C-130 Aircraft Commander School, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. 6. March 2005–October 2007: Aircraft Commander/Instructor Pilot, C-130E/H/Squadron Chief of Training/Safety, 2d Airlift Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C 7. October 2007–January 2010: Air Mobility Liaison Officer/Joint Terminal Attack Controller/Parachutist/Instructor Pilot, C-130H, 621st Contingency Response Wing, Operating Location-Victor, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. 8. January 2010–August 2011: Current Operations Officer/Instructor Pilot, C-130H2, 2nd Airlift Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C. 9. August 2011–August 2012: Chief, Pope Combined Command Post/Instructor Pilot, C-130H2, 43d Airlift Group, Pope Field, Fort Bragg, N.C. 10. August 2012–April 2014, Student, Defense Language Institute and Joint Military Attaché School, Washington, D.C. 11. April 2014–October 2015, United States Assistant Air Attaché to Pakistan, C-12 Program Manager, U.S. Defense Attaché Office, U.S. Embassy, Islamabad, Pakistan 12. October 2015–March 2019, Director, Plans, Strategy, and Wargames, U.S. Navy, Military Sealift Command, (618th Air Operations Center, Operating Location-Bravo), Naval Station Norfolk, Va. 13. July 2019–June 2021, Commander, 349th Operations Support Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, Cal. 14. June 2021–July 2022, Office of the Secretary of Defense Executive Fellow at General Atomics – Aeronautical Systems, Inc, Air War College, Poway Cal. 15. July 2022–Present, Commander, 43d Air Mobility Operations Group, Pope Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, N.C. SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS 1. April 2014–September 2015, Assistant Air Attaché to Pakistan for U.S. Defense Attaché Office, U.S. Embassy, Islamabad, Pakistan, as a major 2. October 2015–March 2019, Director of Plans, Strategy, and Wargames for U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command, Naval Station Norfolk, Va, as a lieutenant colonel FLIGHT INFORMATION Rating: Command Pilot Flight hours: More than 2,800; more than 700 combat hours Aircraft flown: T-37, T-1, C-130E/H1/H2, C-12C/D, KC-10A, C-17A MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster Air Medal with six oak leaf clusters Aerial Achievement Medal Joint Service Commendation Medal Air and Space Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters Army Commendation Medal Combat Action Medal Meritorious Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award with seven oak leaf clusters OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS 2006 United States Air Force Director of Safety “Aircrew of Distinction” Award 2008 United States Army/United States Air Force Parachutist Badge 2009 United States Navy/United States Marine Corps Parachutist Badge 2009–2010 Joint Terminal Attack Controller (Current as of January 2023)