Col. Howard T. Clark III is the Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Plans, Programs, and Analyses for Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa, Ramstein Air Base, Germany (A5/8/9). He leads theater engagement throughout Europe and Africa by managing unit basing, organization, force structure and analyses. He is responsible for developing and directing the command's resource capability processes, doctrine review, strategy initiatives and political-military affairs program, as well as overseeing command analyses and lessons learned. He is also responsible for command transformation, as well as implementing U.S. and NATO strategy and ensuring arms control treaty obligations are met. He serves as U.S. European Command's lead agent in support of the Strategic Airlift Capability C-17 program and the Heavy Airlift Wing at Papa, Hungary.
Colonel Clark was commissioned as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Academy and studied as a Draper Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology researching computer techniques for large space structures. He has served as a C-5 and KC-10 aircraft commander, instructor pilot and evaluator pilot, and performed duties as a flight commander, deployed director of airlift operations, assistant director of operations, squadron commander, Director, Air Force Service Watch and Air Force Crisis Action Team, and Military Deputy Director for Current Operations, Directorate of Current Operations, Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Headquarters Air Force. Prior to his current position, Colonel Clark served as Vice Commander, 439th Airlift Wing, Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts.
A command pilot with more than 3,800 hours in the KC-10 and C-5, Colonel Clark has flown global airlift and air refueling missions including combat and combat support during Operation Southern Watch, Allied Force, and Restore Hope, and has deployed over ten times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. In his civilian job, Colonel Clark is a pilot with a major US carrier where he serves as a MD-11 first officer with more than 2,000 hours.
EDUCATION
1990 Bachelor of Science, Astronautical Engineering and Applied Mathematics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1992 Master of Science, Astronautical Engineering, Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
1996 Squadron Officer School, Distinguished Graduate, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2007 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2013 Air War College, by correspondence
2016 Reserve Component National Security Course, National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.
2017 Safety and Accident Investigation Board President Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2019 Director of Mobility Forces Course, Hulbert Field, Fla.
2019 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1990 - May 1992, AFIT Civilian Programs, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
2. June 1992 – August 1993, Student, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Reese AFB, Texas
3. September 1993 - April 1995, C-5 Co-pilot, Safety Officer, and Computer Section Chief, Dover AFB, Del.
4. May 1995 – September 1995, Director of Airlift Operations, Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras
5. October 1995 – October 1996, C-5 Aircraft Commander, Current Operations Planner, Dover AFB, Del.
6. November 1996 - December 1996, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
7. January 1997 – January 1999, C-5 Instructor Pilot, Wing Executive Officer, Flight Commander, Dover AFB, Del.
8. February 1999 – May 2000, KC-10 Aircraft Commander, McGuire AFB, N.J.
9. May 2000 – April 2001, KC-10 Instructor Pilot and Readiness Flight Commander, McGuire AFB, N.J.
10. May 2001 – December 2002, KC-10 Instructor Pilot, Assistant Chief, Wing Command Post, McGuire AFB, N.J.
11. January 2003 – January 2007, KC-10 Instructor Pilot, McGuire AFB, N.J.
12. February 2007 – May 2008, KC-10 Instructor Pilot, Assistant Flight Commander, McGuire AFB, N.J.
13. June 2008 – May 2012, KC-10 Instructor Pilot, Flight Commander, McGuire AFB, N.J.
14. May 2012 – June 2013, KC-10 Instructor Pilot, Assistant Operations Officer, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
15. June 2013 – August 2015, Commander, 76th Air Refueling Squadron, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
16. August 2015 – February 2017, Director, AF Crisis Action Team and AF Service Watch, Military Deputy Director for Current Operations, Headquarters Air Force, Washington, D.C.
17. February 2017 – March 2020, Vice Commander, 439th Airlift Wing, Westover ARB, Mass. (February 2018 – June 2018 served as Commander, 439th Airlift Wing)
18. March 2020 – Present, Mobilization Assistant to Director of Plans, Programs, and Analyses, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa, Ramstein AB, Germany
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flying Hours: More than 3,800
Aircraft Flown: C-5A/B/C/M, T-38, KC-10
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Joint Meritorious Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with five oak leaf clusters
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 30, 1990
First Lieutenant May 30, 1992
Captain May 30, 1994
Major June 1. 2001
Lieutenant Colonel June 1, 2008
Colonel July 10, 2015
(Current as of March 2020)