Col. George M. Dougherty is the Mobilization Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Integration, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Washington, D.C. He augments leadership of the 100-member acquisition staff organization charged with planning, managing and analyzing the Air Force's 200 billion dollars (FYDP) research, development, and acquisition investment budget. Colonel Dougherty oversees the integration of full life cycle acquisition equities into strategy, requirements, policy, processes, funding, program execution, information technology, and workforce management. These activities enable the 25,000-member Air Force acquisition corps to deliver the vital capabilities necessary to accomplish the Air Force’s core missions.
Col. Dougherty was commissioned in 1991 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps upon graduation from the University of Virginia. Prior to his current assignment, Colonel Dougherty served as the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. His Reserve experience has included three extended tours in active duty command or organizational senior military leader roles, including as the acting Deputy Director of two Directorates of AFRL and as the Military Assistant for the Office of Emerging Capability and Prototyping in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
As a civilian, Col. Dougherty has served as an executive in two international management consulting firms providing business operations and strategy expertise to technology and life sciences companies and the federal government. He also led research programs in microtechnology and counter-weapons of mass destruction technologies at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
EDUCATION
1991 Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
1993 Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
2001 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
2002 Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.
2005 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2008 Master of Business Administration, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
2014 Air War College, by correspondence
2017 Reserve Components National Security Course, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1993 - July 1995, Engine Structures Engineer, F-22 System Program Office, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
2. July 1995 - July 1997, Project Manager for Micro Electromechanical Systems, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
3. March 1998 - November 2004, Research Engineer, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
4. November 2004 - June 2008, Senior Electronic Device Engineer, Sensors Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
5. June 2008 - July 2012, Associate Deputy Division Chief, Sensors Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
6. July 2012 - October 2015, Deputy Chief, Corrosion Prevention and Control Program, Office of the Undersecretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
7. April 2013 – June 2013, Acting Deputy Director, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Research Laboratory, Arlington, Va.
8. May 2015 – December 2015, Acting Deputy Director, Directed Energy Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
9. October 2015 – September 2018, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
10. December 2017 – June 2018, Acting Military Assistant, Office of Emerging Capability and Prototyping, Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
11. September 2018 – August 2019, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Vice Commander, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
12. August 2019 – February 2022, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
13. February 2022 – Present, Mobilization Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Integration, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. December 2017 – June 2018, Acting Military Assistant, Office of Emerging Capability and Prototyping, Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a colonel
AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon with two oak leaf clusters
PUBLICATIONS
2021 “Every Airman and Guardian a Technologist: Reinvigorating a Disruptive Technology Culture,” Air and Space Power Journal
2020 “Accelerating Military Innovation: Lessons from China and Israel,” Joint Force Quarterly
2019 “Ground Combat Overmatch Through Control of the Atmospheric Littoral,” Joint Force Quarterly.
2018 "Promoting Disruptive Military Innovation: Best Practices for DoD Experimentation and Prototyping Programs," Defense Acquisition Research Journal.
2018 “How To Be an Effective Military Innovation Champion,” Defense Acquisition Magazine.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 18, 1991
First Lieutenant May 18, 1993
Captain May 18, 1995
Major Oct. 1, 2002
Lieutenant Colonel Oct. 1, 2009
Colonel Oct. 1, 2015
(Current as of April 2022)