COLONEL DEREK C. FRANCE Colonel Derek C. France is the commander, 325th Fighter Wing, Air Combat Command, Tyndall AFB, Fla. The 325th Fighter Wing consists of more than 4,000 personnel who train and prepare F-22 Raptor pilots, intelligence officers, maintainers, and other support specialties for worldwide assignment to combat Air Force units. The 325th Fighter Wing is host to First Air Force (Air Forces Northern), 601st Air Operations Center, 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group, Det.1, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, 337th Air Control Squadron and Silver Flag. The wing provides support to more than 23,000 Airmen, civilians, contractors and their families. Colonel France was commissioned at the United States Air Force Academy in May 1992. He completed Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin AFB, Texas, in October 1993, where he was the Distinguished Graduate and the AETC Commander's Cup Trophy winner. Colonel France was also the Distinguished Graduate during F-15 Basic Course Training at the 95th Fighter Squadron in November 1994. Colonel France is a command pilot with more than 2,200 hours in the F-15C and F-22. He graduated from the USAF Weapons School in 1998 and later returned as a Weapons School Instructor and Operations Officer. He served as Deputy Detachment Commander and Instructor Pilot in the Royal Saudi Air Force Fighter Weapons School in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. After transitioning to the F-22 in 2008, he commanded the 43rd Fighter Squadron and the 3rd Operations Group. Between squadron and group commands, he served as a National Defense Fellow at the Department of State. His previous assignment was Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, United States Forces Korea, United States Army Garrison Yongsan, Republic of Korea. EDUCATION 1992 Bachelor of Science in Engineering Sciences, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. 1998 U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev. 1999 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 2003 Air Command and Staff Course, (Correspondence) 2005 Master of Business Administration, Touro University International, (Correspondence) 2006 Naval Command and Staff College, Newport, R.I. 2006 Master of National Security and Strategic Studies, Naval War College, Newport, R.I. 2007 Air War College, (Correspondence) ASSIGNMENTS 1. October 1992 - October 1993, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Laughlin AFB, Texas 2. April 1994 - November 1994, Student, F-15C Basic Course 95th Fighter Squadron, 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB, Fla. 3. December 1994 - December 1997, Pilot, Instructor Pilot, and Flight Examiner, 54th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Wing, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska 4. July 1998 - June 2000, Instructor Pilot and Chief of Weapons and Tactics, 71st Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Wing, Langley AFB, Va. 5. July 2000 - July 2004, Instructor Pilot, Flight Commander and Operations Officer, F-15C Division/433rd Weapons Squadron, USAF Weapons School, 57th Wing, Nellis AFB, Nev. 6. August 2004 - June 2005 - Instructor Pilot and Detachment Commander, Dhahran Detachment, United States Military Training Mission, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 7. July 2005 - June 2006, Student, Naval Command and Staff College, Newport, R.I. 8. July 2006 - May 2008, Aide-de-Camp to the AETC Commander, Randolph AFB, Texas 9. June 2008 - June 2010, Commander, 43rd Fighter Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Fla. 10. July 2010 - July 2011, National Defense Fellow, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 11. July 2011 - June 2013, Commander, 3rd Operations Group, Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska 12. June 2013 - July 2014, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, United States Forces Korea, United States Army Garrison Yongsan, Republic of Korea 13. 24 July 2014 - Present, Commander, 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB, Fla. FLIGHT INFORMATION Rating: Command Pilot Flight Hours: Over 2,400 Aircraft Flown: F-15C, F-22 MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS Legion of Merit Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters Air Medal Aerial Achievement Medal Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster Air Force Achievement Medal Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters Combat Readiness Medal with one oak leaf cluster National Defense Service Medal with one device Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Korean Defense Service Medal EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTIONS Second Lieutenant May 27, 1992 First Lieutenant May 27, 1994 Captain May 27, 1996 Major November 1, 2002 Lieutenant Colonel August 1, 2007 Colonel September 1, 2011 (Current as of July 2014)