Col Josh Aldred is the Commander, 325th Mission Support Group, 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. He leads 1,330 personnel in providing mission support and combat-ready Airmen to the 23k members of the Tyndall community. As the commander he manages $6.4 billion in infrastructure on 33K acres plus $280M in equipment supporting 26 aircraft valued at $2.3B.
Col Aldred received his bachelor’s degree and commission from Northern Arizona University in May of 2003. Recently he graduated from the U.S. Army War College and was a member of the Carlisle Scholars Program. Prior to his current position, he was the Deputy Department Head and Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the United States Air Force Academy. Additionally, Col Aldred commanded the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. His leadership ensured the maintenance of 1,892 base facilities, two United States Air Force bombing ranges, and 44 off-base properties and emitter sites, valued at more than $3.8 billion. Another key assignment for Col Aldred includes Commander, 368th Training Squadron, U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he oversaw the technical training of 1,400 engineers and logisticians annually.
He also served as the Operations Flight Commander, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, where he led a 170-person multinational engineer team and served as the Emergency Operations Center Director. Further assignments include Chief of Design for the 819th RED HORSE Squadron, and engineer on the Khowst Provincial Reconstruction Team in Khowst Province, Afghanistan. He began his Air Force career at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, as the Readiness Flight Commander for the 7th Civil Engineer Squadron.
EDUCATION
2003 Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Ariz.
2010 Master of Science, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, University of Texas, Austin
2011 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2012 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2015 Doctorate of Philosophy, Civil Engineering, University of Texas, Austin
2018 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2025 Master of Strategic Studies, Distinguished Graduate, Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2003 – February 2005, Contract Programmer, 7th Civil Engineer Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas
2. February 2005 – July 2006, Readiness Flight Commander, 7th Civil Engineer Squadron, Dyess AFB, Texas (August 2005— March 2006, Team Engineer, Khowst Provincial Reconstruction Team, Chapman Field, Afghanistan)
3. July 2006 – July 2007, Civil Project Engineer, 819th RED HORSE Squadron, Malmstrom AFB, Mont.
4. July 2007 – August 2009, Chief of Design, 819th RED HORSE Squadron, Malmstrom AFB, Mont. (October 2007—April 2008, RED HORSE Site Commander, 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron, Patrol Base Stone, Hawr Rajab, Iraq; February 2009— August 2009, Chief of Design, 1st Expeditionary RED HORSE Group, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar)
5. August 2009 – July 2010, Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Civilian Institution Program, University of Texas, Austin, Texas
6. July 2010 – August 2012, Instructor, then Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
7. August 2012 – August 2015, Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Civilian Institution Program, University of Texas, Austin, Texas
8. August 2015 – August 2016, Operations Flight Commander, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea
9. August 2016 – May 2017, Chief of Strategic Energy Initiatives, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
10. May 2017 – May 2018, Deputy Director, Energy Directorate, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
11. June 2018 – October 2018, Commander, 364th Training Squadron, Detachment 1, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
12. October 2018 - June 2020, Commander, 368th Training Squadron, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
13. July 2020 – June 2022, Commander, 366th Civil Engineer Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
14. June 2022 – June 2024, Deputy Department Head and Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
15. July 2024 – July 2025, In-Residence Student, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
16. August 2025 – Present, Commander, 325th Mission Support Group, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Recognition Ribbon with oak leaf cluster
PUBLICATIONS
Understanding detection success of belowground natural gas leaks in urban environments through controlled release experiments. Journal of Pipeline Science and Engineering, Article 100417. Rao, G. V., Aldred, J. R., Zimmerle, D. J., & Smits, K. M. (2025).
Exploring Environmental Impacts on HVAC Infrastructure Degradation Rate. Sustainability 16, 1723. Frank, T., Aldred, J.R., White, J., Catchpole, M., Cabonce, M., Boulware, S. (2024).
After the hurricane: Validating a resilience assessment methodology. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 51, 101781. Anderson, K., Hotchkiss, E., Myers, L., Stout, S., Grue, N., Gilroy, N., Aldred, J.R., & Rits, M. (2020).
Benefit‐cost analysis of commercially available activated carbon filters for indoor ozone removal in single‐family homes. Indoor Air, 26(3), 501-512. Aldred, J. R., Darling, E., Morrison, G., Siegel, J., & Corsi, R. L. (2016).
Analysis of the cost effectiveness of combined particle and activated carbon filters for indoor ozone removal in buildings. Science and Technology for the Built Environment, 22(2), 227–236. Aldred, J. R., Darling, E., Morrison, G., Siegel, J., & Corsi, R. L. (2016).
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 28, 2003
First Lieutenant May 28, 2005
Captain May 28, 2007
Major October 1, 2013
Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 2018
Colonel September 1, 2024