Colonel JOSEPH E. REID

Col. Joseph E. Reid is the Vice Wing Commander, 186th Air Refueling Wing, Key Field Air National Guard Base, Meridian, Mississippi. The 186th Air Refueling Wing provides over 1,100 personnel and eight KC-135R aircraft to Air Mobility Command for worldwide operations. The wing also supports domestic counter-drug and emergency response missions with an RC-26B aircraft. Additional units include the 238th Air Support Operations Squadron, which serves as a combat force multiplier to U.S. Army counterparts, the 248th Air Traffic Control Squadron, capable of providing air traffic control services for any airfield worldwide, and the 186th Air Operations Group, which provides First Air Force staff augmentation to support the homeland defense mission and deliver defense support to civil authorities during domestic events.  

Col. Reid joined the Mississippi National Guard in 1989 in the 186th Maintenance Group and was later commissioned in 1998 as a graduate of the Academy of Military Science at McGhee Tyson Air Force Base, Knoxville, Tennessee. During his enlisted career, he performed maintenance on the RF-4C and the KC-135R as a guidance and control system specialist. In 1998, after completion of Undergraduate Pilot Training, Col. Reid returned to the 186th Operations Group to fly the KC-135R. His duties at the 186th Operations Group included KC-135R aircraft commander, instructor pilot, evaluator pilot, flight commander, executive officer, and director of operations. He has flown missions supporting operations Noble Eagle, Joint Force, Coronet West, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Inherent Resolve, and Freedom’s Sentinel. He has served as the detachment commander for Pacific Tanker Task Force deployment to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.  He is a command pilot with over 4,100 hours in the MC-12W, C-27J and KC-135R. In 2017 Col. Reid assumed command of the Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) in Gulfport MS. The primary mission of the CRTC Gulfport is to provide an integrated, year-round, realistic joint training environment (Air Space, Ranges, Systems, Facilities, and Equipment) for units to enhance their capability and combat readiness. The CRTC is certified as a National Training Center emphasizing Special Operations Forces (SOF), Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD), Close Air Support (CAS), En-Route Casualty Care (ERCC) and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). Prior to assuming his current position, the colonel was the 186th Maintenance Group commander, Key Field Air National Guard Base, Meridian, Mississippi.

EDUCATION

1995   Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Miss.

2007   Squadron Officer School, by correspondence

2012   Air Force Advanced Instrument School, Oklahoma City, Okla.

2011   Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence

2016   Air War College, by correspondence

2021   US Army War College, Superior Graduate, DDE

ASSIGNMENTS

1. September 1998 – July 1999, Student Pilot, 14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB, Miss.
2. April 1999 – May 2000, Student Pilot, 54th Air Refueling Squadron, Altus AFB, Okla.

ASSIGNMENT CON’T

3. May 2000 – May 2004, KC-135R Co-Pilot, 153rd Air Refueling Squadron, Key Field ANGB, Miss.
4. May 2004 – February 2008, KC-135R Aircraft Commander, 153rd Air Refueling Squadron, Key Field ANGB, Miss
5. February 2008 – June 2009, KC-135R Instructor Pilot, 153rd Air Refueling Squadron, Key Field ANGB, Miss.
6. June 2009 – July 2011, MC-12 Instructor Pilot, 153rd Air Refueling Squadron, Key Field ANGB, Miss.
7. July 2011 – December 2011, C-27J Training, Robins AFB, Ga.
8. December 2011 – July 2013, C-27J Instructor, 153rd Air Refueling Squadron, Key Field ANGB, Miss.
9. July 2013 – November 2017, KC-135R Instructor/Evaluator Pilot, Current Operations, Scheduling, Executive Officer,

Director of Operations, 153rd Air Refueling Squadron, Key Field ANGB, Miss.

10. November 2017 – June 2019, Commander, Combat Readiness Training Center, Gulfport, Miss.
11. June 2019 – February 2022, Maintenance Group Commander, 186th Air Refueling Wing, Key Field ANGB, Miss.
12. February 2022 – Present, Vice Wing Commander, 186th Air Refueling Wing, Key Field ANGB, Miss.

   FLIGHT INFORMATION

Rating: Command pilot

Flight hours: Over 4,100 total hours with 369 combat/combat support hours

Aircraft flown: MC-12W, C-27J and KC-135R

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

STATE AWARDS AND DECORATIONS