Colonel Russell O. Davis is the Commander and Professor of Aerospace Studies for Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Detachment 028, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Arizona. He is responsible for recruiting, educating, training, motivating, selecting and commissioning officer candidates through a comprehensive college program. Colonel Davis provides academic instruction on National Strategy, Air Force history, International Relations and leadership as he prepares future officers for active duty service.
Colonel Davis entered the Air Force via the Delayed Enlistment Program shortly after graduating from Kearns High School in 1992. Following four years of enlisted service, he earned his commission as a distinguished graduate from the Air Force Officer Training School in August 1996. At the tactical level, he has served as an Instructor Minuteman Ill Launch Control Officer and a KC-135 Instructor and Evaluator Pilot. His operational experience includes multiple combat deployments supporting operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Joint Guardian, Northern Watch and Noble Eagle.
His staff experience is extensive, having served as the Director of the Strategy Directorate in the 618th Air Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), Headquarters Third Air Force, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Headquarters United States Transportation Command and Headquarters United States Pacific Command. Additionally, Colonel Davis served as a military professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies as a U.S. Air Force Blue Horizons Fellow. He most recently served in the United States Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, as the Air Attache. As the senior U.S. Airmen in Egypt, he represented the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for all Egyptian Air Force and Ministry of Defense-level interactions. Additionally, as an Instructor Pilot, he led flight operations for the assigned C-12 supporting the Defense Intelligence Agency throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
Additionally, he has commanded at multiple levels, including Flight Command positions in both MMIII missiles and flight operations; deployed Squadron Command of a KC-135 squadron in Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan; and served as the Commander of the largest Mobility Operations Group in the Air Force. While serving as an Operations Group Commander, Colonel Davis also led Mobility Guardian 2019, Air Mobility Command's largest and longest multi-national global mobility exercise at the time, as the Air Boss and Expeditionary Operations Group Commander. In that capacity, he oversaw the successful execution of 388 airland, airdrop, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation missions executed by 52 mobility aircraft from 26 different partner and ally nations.
- 1995 - Associate of Applied Science in Electronic Systems Technology, Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
- 1995 - Bachelor of Science in Systems Mgmt., Summa Cum Laude, Colorado Technical Univ, Colorado Springs, Colo.
- 1999 - Master of Business Administration, Graduate Honors, Regis University, Denver, Colo.
- 2003 - Squadron Officers School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
- 2009 - Air Force Fellows, Joint Mobility Fellow, Scott AFB, Ill.
- 2010 - Master of Military Arts & Science, School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
- 2012 - Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
- 2017 - Advanced Security Cooperation Course, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii
- 2017 - Blue Horizons Fellowship, USAF Center for Strategy and Technology, Maxwell AFB, AL; Camp H.M. Smith, and the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii
- 2017 - Master of Science, Airpower Strategy and Technology Integration, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
- 2017 - Joint and Combined Forces Staff College, Joint Professional Military Education Level II, Norfolk, Va.
- 2020 - Joint Military Attaché School, Bolling AFB, DC
- August 1992-September 1992, Basic Trainee, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
- September 1992-January 1993, Student, Principles of Electronics, Keesler AFB, Miss.
- January 1993-May 1996, Crew Chief, Computer Maintenance, 721st Communications Squadron, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo.
- May 1996-August 1996, Officer Trainee, United States Air Force Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
- August 1996-May 1997, Student, Undergraduate Space & Missile Training, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
- May 1997-November 2000, Missile Combat Crew Commander; Instructor; Senior Flight Commander, 320th Missile Squadron and 90th Operations Support Squadron, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.
- November 2000-March 2002, Student, Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Vance AFB, Okla.
- March 2002-July 2002, Student, KC-135R Pilot Initial Qualification, 54th Combat Crew Training Squadron, Altus AFB, Okla.
- July 2002-November 2005, Operations Group Executive Officer; 319th Operations Group; Instructor Pilot and Assistant Ops Officer, 905th Air Refueling Squadron, Grand Forks AFB, N.D.
- November 2005-September 2007, Readiness Flight Commander; Mobility Assistant Operations Officer; Chief Pilot; Chief, Standardization & Evaluation, 100th Operations Group, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom
- April 2007-June 2008, Executive Officer to the Vice Commander, 3rd Air Force, RAF Mildenhall, UK
- June 2008-June 2009, Joint Mobility fellow, Strategic Plans and Programs Division (A8P); Commanders Action Group (CAG), HQ Air Mobility Command; and Congressional Affairs, United States Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
- June 2009-June 2010, Student, School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
- June 2010-May 2012, Chief of Strategy and Requirements Development; Chief, Strategy and Theater Posture Branch, Strategy, Policy and Requirements Division; Directorate of Operations, Plans, Requirements & Programs, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, Hawaii
- May 2012-April 2013, Commander, 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, Transit Center Manas, Kyrgyz Republic and Detachment 1, Mazar e Sharif, Afghanistan United States Central Command
- May 2013 -May 2015, Chief, East and South-East Asia Contingency Plans Branch; USPACOM Senior Planner; Deputy Chief, Strategic Plans Division (J54); Strategy, Planning Directorate, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
- May 2015-August 2015, Senior Program Manager, China Strategic Initiative, China Strategic Focus Group (JOO), Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
- August 2015-July 2016, USPACOM Senior Strategist; Deputy Chief, Strategy and Policy Division (J56); Strategy, Planning Directorate, Headquarters, United States Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
- July 2016-June 2017, Blue Horizons Fellow, USAF Center for Strategy and Technology, Maxwell AFB, Alabama and Military Professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii
- June 2017-July 2018, Director, Strategy Directorate (SRO), 618th Air Operations Center, Scott AFB, Ill.
- July 2018-June 2020, Commander, 92nd Operations Group, Fairchild AFB, Wash.
- June 2020-August 2021, Student, Egyptian Arabic, Defense Language Institute and Joint Military Attaché School, Washington, D.C.
- August 2021-August 2023, United States Air Attaché to the Arab Republic of Egypt, United States Embassy, Cairo, Egypt
- August 2023-Present, Commander and Professor of Aerospace Studies, AFROTC Detachment 28, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Ariz.
- May 2013-May 2015, Chief, East and South-East Asia Contingency Plans Branch; USPACOM Senior Planner; Deputy Chief, Strategic Plans Division (J54); Strategy, Planning Directorate, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, as a Lieutenant Colonel
- May 2015-August 2015, Senior Program Manager, China Strategic Initiative, China Strategic Focus Group (J00); Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, as a Lieutenant Colonel
- August 2015-July 2016, USPACOM Senior Strategist; Deputy Chief, Strategy and Policy Division (J56); Strategy, Planning Directorate, Headquarters, United States Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, as a Lieutenant Colonel
- August 2021-August 2023, United States Air Attaché to the Arab Republic of Egypt, Defense Intelligence Agency, as a Colonel
- Rating: Command Pilot
- Flight Hours: More than 2,700, including 730 combat hours
- Aircraft Flown/Weapon Systems Qualified: T-37, T-1, KC-135R/T, C-12C/D, Minuteman Ill ICBM
- Legion of Merit
- Bronze Star
- Defense Meritorious Service Medal with One Oak Leave Cluster
- Meritorious Service Medal with Two Oak Leaf Clusters
- Air Medal with One Silver Oak Leaf Cluster
- Aerial Achievement Medal with Two Oak Leaf Clusters
- Joint Service Commendation Medal
- Joint Service Achievement Medal
- Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal with Four Oak Leak Clusters and "N" Device
- Air Force Good Conduct Medal
- Second Lieutenant - Aug. 10, 1996
- First Lieutenant - Aug. 10, 1998
- Captain - Aug. 10, 2000
- Major - Aug. 1, 2006
- Lieutenant Colonel - Nov. 1, 2011
- Colonel - Jan. 1, 2018
(Current as of August 2023)
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Prescott, AZ 86301