COLONEL JOHN D. CHERRY

Col. John D. Cherry is the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Space System Command, Air Force Space Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. He is responsible for assisting the Commander, who also serves as the Air Force Program Executive Officer for Space, in managing a $7 billion budget covering space systems research, development, acquisition, sustainment and the associated launch, command and control infrastructure. Space and Missile Systems Center has a workforce of approximately 6,000 military and civilian professionals nationwide with a portfolio that includes military satellite communication, missile warning, navigation and timing, space-based weather, space launch and test ranges, certification for launch, space superiority, responsive space and other emerging evolutionary space programs.

A graduate of The Ohio State University, Colonel Cherry received his commission through the Academy of Military Science in 1992. He has served in a wide variety of operational, intelligence, staff, COCOM, Headquarters AF and joint positions to include Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) to the Director of Intelligence Pacific Air Forces, IMA to the Commander and Director of Intelligence, Joint Intelligence Operation Center, Europe; Joint Intelligence Center Pacific. In addition, he served in the 8th Intelligence Squadron; Third Air Force United States Air Forces Europe and Director of Finance for the 2004 Joint Personnel and Recovery mission to Vietnam, repatriating 21 service members from the Vietnam and Korea conflicts.

Colonel Cherry has extensive experience in joint, inter-agency, and multinational contingency and combat operations. He directed intelligence operations for multiple contingencies, deployed to the US Central Command area of responsibility on multiple occasions including Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, and NOMAD SHADOW. He also deployed as Deputy Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Division Chief, Combined Forces Air Component, Poggio Renatico, Italy, Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR and Operation ODYSSEY DAWN, to provide the Joint Force Air Component Commander and subordinate units with intelligence, ISR operations and targeting. Prior to his current assignment, Colonel Cherry was the IMA to the Commander National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

EDUCATION
1989 Bachelor of Science, Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
1992 Academy of Military Science, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard, Tenn.
1997 Master of Science, Engineering Management, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio
1997 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2004 Reserve Component International Joint Officer Professional Development, Brussels Belgium
2004 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2006 GS-15 Senior Leadership Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2007 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2008 Acquisition Professional Development (APDP) Level 3 in S&T Mgmt and Engineering, Level 2 in Pgm Mgmt
2010 Doctor of Philosophy, Engineering and Applied Science, Walden University, Minneapolis, Minn.
2012 Reserve Component National Security Course, National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.
2016 Joint Advanced Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2017 NATO Senior Reserve Officer Course, Oberammergau, Germany
2019 Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Colo.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1992 - February 1992, Student, Academy of Military Sciences, McGhee Tyson ANG, Tenn.
2. November 1994 - July 2003, Intelligence Analyst, Joint Intelligence Center Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
3. July 2003 - February 2008, Director of Operations; 8th Intelligence Squadron, Hickam AFB, Hawaii (March 2008 – September 2008, Detachment CC/ Document and Media Exploitation, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM – ISAF HQ, Kabul, Afghanistan)
4. January 2009 - March 2012, Director of Intelligence 3 AF, United States Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany (May 2011 – July 2011, ISR Director of Intelligence (J2), Combined Air Operations Center, Poggio, Italy)
5. March 2012 - January 2013, Director of Intelligence Operations, United States Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany (January 2013 – September 2013, Chief, Intelligence Fusion Center, Op NOMAD SHADOW, Ankara, Turkey)
6. September 2013 - June 2014, Director of Intelligence Operations, United States Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany
7. June 2014 - June 2015, IMA to Commander/Director of Intelligence Joint Intelligence Operation Center, Joint Analytic Center Europe, Royal Air Force Molesworth, United Kingdom
8. June 2015 - November 2018, IMA to the Commander, National Air & Space Intelligence Center
9. November 2018 - November 2019, IMA to the Director, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance; Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
10. November 2017 - November 2019, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
11. November 2019 - present, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Space System Command, Los Angeles, Calif.

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Feb. 20, 1992
First Lieutenant Feb. 20, 1995
Captain Dec. 24, 1997
Major April 15, 2004
Lieutenant Colonel Aug. 11, 2009
Colonel Aug. 1, 2014

(Current as of April 2020)