Colonel Benjamin D. Phillips is Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Plans, Programs and Requirements, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio Randolph, Texas. He leads the requirements development and programming of over $6.9 billion annually in support of nearly 62,000 personnel executing recruit, train, and educate missions for the US Air Force and our international partners.
Colonel Phillips was commissioned through the ROTC program at the University of Missouri, serving the regular Air Force as an air traffic controller, F-15E pilot, flight instructor, evaluator, and on presidential support detail. He transitioned to the Air Force Reserve in 2005 as a program manager with the Air Force Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities office. He has served as a senior government leader and a private sector consultant in the fields of strategy, technology development and innovation. He was Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Deputy Director of Operations, Headquarters USSOUTHCOM prior to assuming his current duties.
In his civilian capacity, Colonel Phillips is Deputy Director of the Center for Strategy & Technology and host to CSAF’s entrepreneurial fellowship, Blue Horizons.
EDUCATION
1993 Bachelor of Science degree in physics, University of Missouri, Columbia
2001 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2003 Master of Arts degree in political science, Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas.
2004 Air Command & Staff College, by correspondence
2011 Air War College, by correspondence
2014 Master of Business Administration degree, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1994 – August 1995, Student, air traffic control officer training, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. and later, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.
2. September 1995– May 1997, Deputy Airfield Operations Flight Commander, Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.
3. June 1997 – May 1998, Student, specialized undergraduate pilot training, Vance Air Force Base, Okla.
4. June 1998 – May 1999, Student, F-15E qualification training, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
5. June 1999 – May 2001, Chief of Safety and F-15E Aircraft Commander, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom
6. June 2001 – August 2005, T-37 Instructor/Flight Examiner and Flight Commander, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
7. September 2005 – September 2010, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Director, and Irregular Warfare Branch Chief, Air Force Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities, Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.
8. October 2010 – May 2014, F-22 Program Element Monitor, Global Power Programs Directorate, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition), Arlington, Va.
9. June 2014 – July 2017, Associate Director, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
10. July 2017 – November 2018, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Deputy Director of Operations, Headquarters United States Southern Command, Doral, Fla.
11. December 2018 – present, Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Plans, Programs and Requirements, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio Randolph, Texas
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 2017 – December 2018, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Deputy Director of Operations, Headquarters United States Southern Command, Doral, Fla, as a colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Senior pilot
Flight hours: More than 1,500
Aircraft flown: T-37B, T-38A, F-15E
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Distinguished Graduate, Air Traffic Control Officer Training Program
Distinguished Graduate and AETC Commander’s Trophy, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training
Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Company Grade Officer of the Year
Space Warfare Center IMA of the Year
Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) IMA of the Year
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant August 6, 1993
First Lieutenant January 9, 1996
Captain January 9, 1998
Major April 1, 2004
Lieutenant Colonel August 11, 2009
Colonel July 18, 2014
(Current as of January 2019)