Col. Dennis W. Knight is the Commander, 325th Maintenance Group, 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. He leads and is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping the Total Force Association of more than 800 Active Duty, Reserve, civilian and contracted maintenance personnel supporting 32 F-35 aircraft to ensure the group meets its mission to "Rapidly generate and sustain unrivaled combat airpower-anytime, anyplace."
Colonel Knight enlisted in the Air Force in June 1990. In May 2001, he commissioned as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer. His enlisted career spanned maintenance positions on F-16s, F-117s, Transient Alert/Crash recovery and as an F-16 Mission Ready Airman Instructor. As an officer, Col. Knight led maintenance on KC-135s and C-5s. He was an AFROTC instructor and further led the maintenance effort on the RC-135 and E-4B fleets. He has provided in-garrison support for Operation NOBLE EAGLE and deployed in support of Operations PROVIDE COMFORT, ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, INHERENT RESOLVE, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL and Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.
Colonel Knight has commanded the 55th Maintenance Squadron, and 60th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Further, he served at Headquarters Air Force as the Chief, Logistics Strategy Branch and with further duties as Commander, 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. He also served as Deputy Commander of the 55th Maintenance Group and as Director, Air/Navy/Air Defense Team, Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq, US Embassy, Baghdad Iraq. His previous position was Chief, C2ISR, Personnel Recovery and Advanced Programs Division, Headquarters Air Combat Command.
EDUCATION
1999 Associate of Applied Science, Aircraft Maintenance Technology, Community College of the Air Force
2000 Associate of Applied Science, Instructor of Military Science, Community College of the Air Force
2000 Bachelor of Science, Occupational Education, Wayland Baptist university, Wichita Falls, Tex.
2001 Aerospace Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2004 Master of Business Administration, Logistics Management, Trident University, Calif.
2007 Squadron Officer School, Correspondence and In-Residence, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2010 Air Command and Staff College, Correspondence, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2016 Air War College, Correspondence, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2017 Joint Logistics Course, Fort Lee, Vir.
2018 Enterprise Logistics Course, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
2024 Joint and Combined Warfighter School, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Vir.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1990 – October 1990, Basic Trainee and Technical School Student, Lackland Air Force Base and Sheppard AFB, Texas
2. October 1990 – May 1994, F-16 Aircraft Maintenance Journeyman, 480th Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany
3. May 1994 – June 1995, F-117 Aircraft Maintenance Journeyman, 9th Fighter Squadron, Holloman AFB, NM
4. June 1995 – June 1997, F-117 Airframe Repair/Crash Recovery Journeyman, 49th Maintenance Squadron, Holloman AFB, NM
5. June 1997 – June 1999, Transient Alert/ Crash Recovery Technician, 65th Operations Support Squadron, Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal
6. June 1999 – March 2001, F-16 Mission Ready Airman Instructor, 362nd Training Squadron, Sheppard AFB, Texas
7. March 2001 – May 2001, Officer Trainee, Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
8. May 2001 – May 2003, Sortie Support, then Sortie Generation Flight Commander, 19th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Robins AFB, Ga.
9. May 2003 – May 2004, C-5 Assistant Maintenance Operations Officer, 19th Maintenance Squadron, Robins AFB, Ga.
10. May 2004 – May 2008, Associate Professor Of Aerospace Studies, Det 820, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
11. May 2008 – April 2011, Maintenance Operations Officer, 95th Reconnaissance Squadron, Royal Air Force, Mildenhall, United Kingdom (Deployed - June 2009 – February 2010, Officer In Charge, 55th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid AB, Qatar)
12. April 2011 – May 2013, Maintenance Operations Officer, 55th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Offutt AFB, NE (Deployed August 2012 – March 2013, Operations Officer, 55th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid AB, Qatar)
13. May 2013 – June 2015, Commander, 55th Maintenance Squadron, Offutt AFB, NE
14. July 2015 – August 2017, Commander, 60th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
15. August 2017 – June 2018, Chief, Logistics Strategy Branch, Headquarters Air Force A4, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
16. June 2018 – June 2019, Logistics Strategy Branch, Headquarters Air Force A4, Pentagon, Washington D.C. with duties assigned as Commander, 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates
17. June 2019 – June 2022, Deputy Commander, 55th Maintenance Group, Offutt AFB, NE
18. June 2022 – August 2023, 55th Maintenance Group, Offutt AFB, NE with duties assigned as Director, Air/Navy/Air Defense Team (June 2022 - June 2023), Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq, US Embassy, Baghdad Iraq
19. August 2023 – August 2024, Chief, C2ISR/Personnel Recovery/Advanced Programs Division, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley Eustis, Hampton, Vir.
20. August 2024 – May 2026, Commander, 15th Maintenance Group, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI
21. June 2026 - Present, Commander, 325th Maintenance Group, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2022 – June 2023, Director, Air/Navy/Air Defense Team, Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq, US Embassy, Baghdad Iraq
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with five oak leaf clusters
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 25, 2001
First Lieutenant May 25, 2003
Captain May 25, 2005
Major January 1, 2011
Lieutenant Colonel April 1, 2016
Colonel September 1, 2022
(Current as of July 2026)