Colonel JOSHUA A. MOORES

Colonel Joshua A. Moores is the Deputy Commander, 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma.  He is esponsible for the formal training of all KC-46 Pegasus, C-17 Globemaster III and KC-135 Stratotanker aircrews for active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve units, as well as multiple partner air forces from across the world. In addition, the wing simultaneously maintains a worldwide capability to support combatant commanders by deploying mission-ready Airmen on short notice.

He received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 2006 where he majored in Systems Engineering Management and has since earned a Master of Aeronautical Science and a Master of International Relations and World Order. He is a graduate of the NATO Defense College, was a 2013 White House Intern, and an Air Force Fellow assigned to the State Department’s Presidential Special Envoy to Defeat ISIS and then to the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Commander’s Action Group.

Prior to his current assignment Colonel Moores was the Director, Joint Integrated Space Team – NORAD and USNORTHCOM where he led USSPACECOM integration to empower and leverage the full potential of space power.  He also Commanded the 344th Air Refueling Squadron, America’s first KC-46 squadron, served as the Protocol Officer to the 18th and 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as the Director, Commander’s Action Group, Air Mobility Command.

Colonel Moores is a command pilot with over 3500 flying hours and 900 combat hours in support of Operations IRAQI FREEDOM, NEW DAWN, and ENDURING FREEDOM and has deployed as a C-130 Airlift Execution Officer to the Air Mobility Division, Combined Air Operations Center, Qatar. His joint planning and operational experience directed enterprise-wide actions and rapid responses to Iranian high-volume missile and drone attacks, Operations ROUGH RIDER, ABSOLUTE RESOLVE, SOUTHERN SPEAR, MIDNIGHT HAMMER, EPIC FURY, and further compartmented operations.

EDUCATION

ASSIGNMENTS

1. May 2006 – January 2007, Training Officer, 705th Training Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2. January 2007 – December 2007, Student, Joint Pilot Training, Whiting Field, Fla.
3. December 2007 – October 2008, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Vance AFB, Okla.
4. March 2009 – July 2011, C-5 Pilot, Budget & Resource Officer, 22nd Airlift Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
5. July 2011 – March 2012, C-5 Instructor Aircraft Commander, Chief Executive Officer, 22nd Airlift
Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
6. March 2012 – December 2012, Flight Commander, C-5 Instructor Aircraft Commander, 22nd Airlift
Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
7. December 2012 – January 2014, C-5 Instructor Aircraft Commander, Chief Pilot Training, 9th Airlift Squadron
Dover AFB, Del.
8. January 2014 – November 2014, Wing Executive Officer, C-5 Evaluator Aircraft Commander, 436th
Airlift Wing, Dover AFB, Del.
9. November 2014 – June 2015, Chief C-5 Standardization & Evaluation, C-5 Evaluator Aircraft
Commander, 436th Operations Group, Dover AFB, Del.
10. June 2015 – June 2016, Protocol Officer, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
11. June 2016 – July 2017, Strategic Planner, Transregional Threats Coordination Cell, J-5, Strategic Plans and
Policy, Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
12. July 2017 – December 2017, Present, Air Force Strategic Policy Fellow, The Special Presidential Envoy to the
Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, State Department, Washington, D.C.
13. January 2018 – July 2018, Air Force Strategic Policy Fellow, Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of
Staff of the Air Force Executive Action Group, Headquarters Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
14. July 2018 – December 2019, Student, KC-135 Initial Qualification Course, Altus AFB, Okla.
15. December 2019 – January 2020, KC-46 Evaluator Pilot, KC-46 Program Integration Officer, McConnell AFB, Kan.
16. January 2020 – May 2020, Chief, KC-46 Aircrew Training Detachment, McConnell AFB, Kan.
17. May 2020 – May 2022, Commander, 344 Air Refueling Squadron, McConnell AFB, Kan.
18. May 2022 – June 2023, Director, Commander’s Action Group, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
19. July 2023 – July 2024, Student, NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy.
20. July 2024 – June 2025, Chief, Crisis Response Operations, J-3, Global Space Operations, United States
Space Command, Peterson SFB, Colorado Springs, Colo.
21. June 2025 – June 2026, Director, Joint Integrated Space Team (JIST) – NORTH, United States Space Command, Peterson SFB, Colorado Springs, Colo.

22. June 2026  – Present, Deputy Commander, 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB, Okla.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS

June 2015 – June 2016, Protocol Officer, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon, Washington,
D.C., as a Captain
June 2016 – July 2017, Strategic Planner, Transregional Threats Coordination Cell, J-5, Strategic Plans and Policy,
Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a Major
July 2024 – June 2025, Chief, Contingency and Crisis Operations, J-3, Operations, United States Space Command,
Peterson SFB, Colorado Springs, Colo., as a Lieutenant Colonel.

June 2025 – June 20-26, Director, Joint Integrated Space Team – NORTH, United States Space Command, Peterson SFB, Colorado Springs, Colo., as a Colonel

 

Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: Over 3500
Aircraft Flown: T-34 Turbo Mentor, T-1 Jayhawk, C-5A/B/C Galaxy, C-5M Super Galaxy, KC-135R Stratotanker, and the
KC-46A Pegasus

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

Second Lieutenant May 31, 2006
First Lieutenant May 31, 2008
Captain May 31, 2010
Major May 1, 2016
Lieutenant Colonel, October 1, 2019
Colonel, March 1, 2025
(Current as of June 2026)