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Colonel Richard C. Tanner

    

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COLONEL RICHARD C. TANNER

 

Colonel Richard C. Tanner is Vice Commander, 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Japan. The 18th Wing, the largest combat wing in the U.S. Air Force, provides the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, trained and equipped tactical air superiority forces, combat search and rescue forces, command and control platforms, aeromedical evacuation capability, and global mobility resources for contingency operations. The wing flies the F-15C, KC-135R, HH-60 and E-3 aircraft. Additionally, the wing provides the 5th Air Force commander a responsive staging and operational air base with integrated, deployable, forward-based airpower.

 

Colonel Tanner received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 1998, and after Undergraduate Pilot Training, he qualified in the C-17A Globemaster.  He has served in various operational positions, including Special Operations Flight Commander and Squadron Director of Operations, and has commanded operational and combat missions worldwide in support of Operations NORTHERN WATCH, SOUTHERN WATCH, ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM and NEW DAWN.  He served as the Commander of the 305th Operations Support Squadron at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, where he led over 385 Airmen, Sailors and Soldiers in the Air Force’s only tri-service Operations Support Squadron.  In 2006, he was selected as an Olmsted Scholar to Osaka University, Japan, and has served in staff capacities as the Japan Country Director on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief of Officer Development at HQ Air Mobility Command.

 

Before his current assignment, Colonel Tanner was a Senior Defense Fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. 

 

EDUCATION

1998    Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry, U.S. Air Force Academy, CO

2004    Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL

2007    Air Command and Staff College, in correspondence, Maxwell AFB, AL

2009    Master of International Public Policy, Osaka University, Japan

2009    Olmsted Scholar Program (IDE Equivalency)

2012    Air War College, in correspondence, Maxwell AFB, AL

2017    Senior Defense Fellow, Harvard University

 

 

 

ASSIGNMENTS

  1.   Aug 1998 - Nov 1999, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus AFB, MS

  2.   Mar 2000 - Jun 2006, C-17 Evaluator Pilot, Group Executive Officer, Spec Ops Flight Commander, Special Operations Planner, 15th Airlift Squadron/437 OG, Charleston AFB, SC

  3.   Jun 2006 - Jun 2007, Student, Defense Language Institute, Washington, D.C.

  4.   Jul 2007 - Jul 2009, Olmsted Scholar, Osaka University, Japan

  5.   Jul 2009 - Jul 2010, Assistant Ops Officer, Deployed Det Chief, 21st AS, Travis AFB, CA

  6.   Jul 2010 - Jul 2011, Operations Officer, 60th Operations Support Sq, Travis AFB, CA

  7.   Jul 2011 - Jun 2013, Political-Military Planner, Strategic Plans and Policy, Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

  8.  Jun 2013 - Jun 2015, Commander, 305th Operations Support Squadron, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey

  9.  Jun 2015 - Jun 2016, Chief, Officer Development, HQ Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, IL

  10.  Jun 2016 - Jun 2017, Senior Defense Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

  11.  Jun 2017 - Present, Vice Commander, 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Japan

 

FLIGHT INFORMATION

Rating:  Command Pilot

Flight hours:  3300+

Aircraft flown: T-37, T-1, C-17, KC-10, KC-135

 

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Defense Meritorious Service Medal

Meritorious Service Medal w/3OLC

Air Medal w/OLC

Aerial Achievement Medal

Air Force Commendation Medal w/OLC

Joint Service Achievement Medal

Humanitarian Service Medal  

                                         

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

Second Lieutenant      27 May 1998

First Lieutenant           27 May 2000

Captain                        27 May 2002

Major                           1 Oct 2007

Lieutenant Colonel     1 Oct 2012

Colonel                        1 May 2017

 

(Current as of June 2017)