Col. Bowman entered the Air Force through the United States Air Force Academy in 1995. He has extensive experience in special operations, intelligence, and combat helicopter operations. He has commanded in combat and fulfilled staff assignments at Headquarters Air Force and Air Force Global Strike Command. He additionally completed five combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan operating the MH-53M and Mi-17. Col. Bowman also executed the USAF’s first radiation mapping missions following Japan’s 2011 tsunami, and evacuated 120 American citizens from Beirut, Lebanon, during the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah conflict—part of the largest American non-combatant evacuation operation since the Korean War. Finally, he was integral to the stand-up of the 582d Helicopter Group, the command’s most significant realignment of its helicopter forces in more than three decades. Prior to assuming his current position, he was the Chief of Current Operations at Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command.
EDUCATION
1995 Bachelor of Science degree in History, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2001 Squadron Officer School, Distinguished Graduate, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2005 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2008 Master of Policy Management degree, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 2011 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 1995 – March 1996, Student Intelligence Officer, 315th Training Squadron, Goodfellow AFB, Texas
2. March 1996 – December 1996, Chief of Intelligence Operations, Analysis, and Training, 352d Operations Support Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom
3. December 1996 – July 1998, Chief of Intelligence, 7th Special Operations Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom
4. August 1998 – June 1999, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, VT-3, NAS Whiting Field, Fla.
5. June 1999 – March 2000, Student, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training-Helicopter, 23d Flying Training Squadron, Fort Rucker, Ala.
6. March 2000 – October 2001, UH-1N Mission Pilot; and Chief of Current Operations, 36th Rescue Flight,
Fairchild AFB, Wash.
7. October 2001 – January 2003, UH-1N Instructor Pilot; and Chief of Training, 36th Rescue Flight, Fairchild AFB, Wash.
8. January 2003 – February 2004, Student, MH-53J Mission Pilot Qualification, 551st Special Operations Squadron, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
9. February 2004 – November 2005, MH-53M Aircraft Commander; and Current Operations Officer, 21st Special Operations Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom
10. November 2005 – October 2006, Assistant Director of Operations, 21st Special Operations Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom
11. October 2006 – April 2007, War Readiness Flight Commander, 21st Special Operations Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom
12. April 2007 – May 2008, Student, Georgetown University, McCourt School of Public Policy, Washington, D.C.
13. June 2008 – August 2009, Legislative Liaison, Congressional Action Division, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
14. August 2009 – May 2010, Deputy Chief, Air Operations Division, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
15. May 2010 – March 2012, Director of Operations, 459th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan
16. March 2012 – March 2013, Commander, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, Kabul, Afghanistan
17. March 2013 – June 2013, Deputy Commander, 374th Operations Group, Yokota Air Base, Japan
18. July 2013 – June 2015, Deputy Chief of Helicopter Operations, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale AFB, La.
19. July 2015 – July 2016, Deputy Commander, 582d Helicopter Group, Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyo.
20. August 2016 – June 2017, Chief of Current Operations, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale AFB, La.
21. June 2017 – present, Commander, 582d Helicopter Group, Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyo.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: More than 2,400, including 445 combat hours
Aircraft flown: MH-53J/M, C-12J, Mi-17, Mi-35, MD-530F and UH-1N
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster Air Force Achievement Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 31, 1995
First Lieutenant May 31, 1997
Captain May 31, 1999
Major August 1, 2005
Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 2010
Colonel September 1, 2016
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(Current as of August 2017)