Col. Denise J. Edwards 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. She 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 Edwards 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.
Since 2008, Colonel Edwards has worked for a Federally Funded Research and Development Center providing analytic support to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In this position, she evaluates the adequacy of the operational test and evaluation plans of the services and determines the operational effectiveness and suitability of systems designated for Office of Secretary of Defense Oversight. She has led assessments on the operational effectiveness and suitability of the Joint Mission Planning System-Maritime and Expeditionary, Battle Control System-Fixed, National Capital Region Integrated Air Defense System, the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft, and the CV-22. She also advises the services on operational test planning for the Three-Dimension Expeditionary Long Range Radar. Wide Area Surveillance and the Army's Integrated Air and Missile Defense System.
Colonel Edwards has served as the Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Strategic Plans, Programs and Requirements, Air Force Special Operations Command, IMA to the 96th Test Wing Commander, Director, Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate, Deputy Chief of the Tactical Airlift, Special Operations and Training Aircraft Division of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition), Global Mobility Division at the Pentagon, the Deputy Chief of Staff for United States Strategic Command Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction in Fort Belvoir, Virginia., the Assistant Director of Operations and the Command's Senior Flight Test Analyst for Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida, and a Precision Guided Munitions (PGM) Weapons and Tactics Analyst for the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron, Eglin AFB, Florida. Colonel Edwards earned her undergraduate degree in Mathematics from the State University of New York at Potsdam as well as graduate degrees in Mathematics and Education from the University of Hawaii and a Master of Science in Statistics from the University of West Florida.
EDUCATION
1992 Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Secondary Education, State University of New York at Potsdam
1999 Master of Education in Mathematics and Secondary Education, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu
2002 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. by correspondence
2007 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. by correspondence
2012 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. by correspondence
2017 Master of Science in Mathematics (Statistics), University of West Florida
ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 1997–January 2000, Precision Guided Munitions Analyst, 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
2. January 2000–May 2002, Flight Test Analyst, 18th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
3. May 2002–November 2002, Mission Support Flight Commander, 18th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
4. November 2002–November 2006, Executive Officer, 18th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
5. November 2006–June 2007, Assistant Director of Operations, 18th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
6. June 2007–January 2008, Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction Analyst, United States Strategic Command Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction, Fort Belvoir, Va.
7. January 2008–September 2010, Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Strategic Command Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction, Fort Belvoir, Va.
8. September 2010–April 2015, Deputy Chief of the Tactical Airlift, Special Operations & Training Aircraft Division of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition), Global Mobility Division, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
9. April 2015–July 2017, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Director, Air Force Research Laboratory, Munitions Directorate, Eglin AFB, Fla.
10. July 2017–July 2020, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the 96th Test Wing Commander, Eglin AFB, Fla.
11. July 2020–April 2023, Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Strategic Plans, Programs, and Requirements, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
12. April 2023–present, 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.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 30, 1997
First Lieutenant May 30, 1999
Captain May 30, 2001
Major May 30, 2005
Lieutenant Colonel August 20, 2010
Colonel May 8, 2015
(Current as of April 2023)