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Biography

COLONEL SEAN M. CARPENTER

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Colonel Sean M. Carpenter is the Commander of the 926th Wing, 10th Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., executing legacy, 5th generation and remotely piloted aircraft, as well as space, cyber, aircraft maintenance, mission support and medical operations. He commands more than 1,500 unit reservists who are classically associated in Total Force Integration constructs throughout Air Combat Command and the United States Air Force Warfare Center, supporting their test, tactics and training missions, and conducting 24/7 combat operations for Air Forces in Europe, Africa Command, and Central Command theaters of operation. He is additionally responsible for geographically separated units at Creech AFB, Nev., Beale AFB, Calif., Holloman AFB, N.M., Schriever AFB, Colo., Eglin AFB, Fla., and Hurlburt Field, Fla.

Col. Carpenter was born in Charleston, S.C. He received his commission in June 1996 from the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed pilot training at Laughlin AFB, Texas, in 1998, and was assigned as an F-16C pilot. He is a veteran of Operations Southern Watch, Northern Watch, Noble Eagle, and Iraqi Freedom. He has commanded at the squadron and group level, graduated the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy as a Distinguished Graduate at Fort McNair in Washington D.C. and served as the Director, Commander’s Action Group, for the Chief of the Air Force Reserve. Col. Carpenter is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours, including 325 combat hours. Prior to his current assignment, he served as the commander of the 419th Operations Group at Hill AFB, Utah.

In his civilian capacity, he is a First Officer with Delta Air Lines flying the MD-88 aircraft.

EDUCATION
1996 Bachelor of Science, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
1997 Master of Science, Aerospace Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
2003 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
2006 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2007 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2009 Advanced Joint Professional Military Education, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2011 Naval Strategy and War Course, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
2013 Theater Decision Making Course, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
2013 Reserve Component National Security Course, National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.
2016 Distinguished Graduate, Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.
2019 Reserve Component National Security Course, National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 1996 – June 1997, Student, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
2. July 1997 – November 1998, Student Pilot, 47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB, Texas
3. December 1998 – November 1999, F-16 Student Pilot, 56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB, Ariz.
4. December 1999 – November 2002, Chief of Wing Scheduling, 78th Fighter Squadron, Shaw AFB, S.C.
5. December 2002 – November 2003, Chief of Standards & Evaluations, 80th FS, Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea
6. December 2003 – November 2006, Fighter Associate Program Flight Commander, 93rd FS, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla.
7. December 2006 – May 2009, Chief of Scheduling, 93rd FS, Homestead ARB, Fla.
8. June 2009 – April 2011, Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 482nd Operations Group, Homestead ARB, Fla.
9. May 2010 – February 2013, Chief of Wing Combat Readiness/Inspections, 482nd FW, Homestead ARB, Fla.
10. March 2013 – September 2013, Assistant Director of Operations, 93rd FS, Homestead ARB, Fla.
11. September 13 – July 2015, Commander, 84th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.
12. August 2015 – June 2016, Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, Fort McNair, Washington D.C.
13. July 2016 – July 2017, Director, Commander’s Action Group, Air Force Reserve Command, Robins AFB, Ga.
14. August 2017 – March 2018, Individual Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Safety, AFRC, Robins AFB, Ga.
15. March 2018 – August 2019, Commander, 419th OG, Hill AFB, Utah
16. August 2019 – Present, Commander, 926th Wing, Nellis AFB, Nev.

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 3,000 including 325 combat hours
Aircraft Flown: DC-9, T-38, F-16, F-35

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant July 26, 1996
First Lieutenant July 26, 1998
Captain July 26, 2000
Major July 1, 2006
Lieutenant Colonel Aug. 23, 2011
Colonel July 1, 2016

(Current as of August 2019)