Colonel Brandon D. Parker is the vice commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. He assists the commander in providing for the health and welfare of more than 9,100 military and civilian personnel, 5,800 family members, and 25,000 retirees. He also shares the responsibility for ensuring the 2nd Bomb Wing maintains a constant state of readiness in order to provide flexible and responsive combat capability in support of United States Strategic Command and theater combatant commanders. Prior to this assignment, Parker served as a National Defense Fellow at the Belfer Center, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Massachusetts.
Parker grew up in Ogden, Utah, and is a 1996 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He previously commanded the 23rd Bomb Squadron, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. His staff assignments included duty as the assistant executive officer to the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (CSAF) and as a joint planning officer at Headquarters, U.S. Strategic Command, Plans and Policy Directorate, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. Parker deployed in support of various contingencies including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, the School of Advanced Air & Space Studies (SAASS), Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), and the Joint & Combined Warfighting School-Phase II Course (JPME II). Parker is a command pilot with more than 2,700 hours in the B-52H Stratofortress and over 380 combat hours.
EDUCATION
1996 Bachelors Degree of Science, Psychology, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado
2003 Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officer’s School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
2004 U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nevada, and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana
2007 Master of Aeronautical Science Degree, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona, Florida
2008 Master of Military Art and Science, ACSC, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
2009 Master of Airpower Art and Science, SAASS, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
2010 Joint Forces Staff College, JPME II, Norfolk, Virginia
2012 Air War College (by correspondence), Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
2015 Senior Developmental Education, Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1997 – February 1998, student, undergraduate pilot training, Vance AFB, Oklahoma
2. March 1998 – September 1998, student, B-52 initial qualification training, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana
3. October 1998 – July 2004, standardization/evaluation pilot, short range flight scheduler, weapons and tactics
instructor pilot, and standardization/evaluation flight commander, 23rd Bomb Squadron, Minot AFB, North Dakota
4. August 2004 – July 2006, FTU weapons officer, flight commander, 11th Bomb Squadron, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana
5. August 2006 – July 2007, assistant director of operations, 2nd Operations Support Squadron, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana
6. August 2007 – June 2008, student, ACSC, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
7. July 2008 – May 2009, student, SAASS, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
8. June 2009 – April 2011, joint plans officer/strategist, HQ USSTRATCOM/J5, Offutt AFB, Nebraska
9. May 2011 – July 2012, assistant executive officer to the CSAF, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
10. August 2012 – June 2014, Commander, 23rd Bomb Squadron, Minot AFB, North Dakota
11. July 2014 – June 2015, Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts
12. July 2015 – Present, Vice Commander, 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: 2,800
Aircraft Flown: B-52H, T-37, T-38
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 1996
First Lieutenant May 1998
Captain May 2000
Major May 2006
Lieutenant Colonel December 2010
Colonel July 2015
(Current as of February 2016)