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Col. David Bissonnette, Vice Wing CDR Creech AFB – Veteran’s Day

November 9, 2017 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Colonel David M. Bissonnette is the Vice Commander, 432d Wing and 432d Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW), Creech Air Force Base, Nev. He is responsible for all operations and maintenance of the Air Force’s first Remotely Piloted Aircraft wing, equipped with more than 130 MQ-1B Predator, MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-170 Sentinel remotely piloted aircraft. The 432d Wing trains pilots, sensor operators, and other crewmembers, and conducts persistent attack and reconnaissance combat operations worldwide. As the 432 WG Vice Commander, he leads more than 2,500 active duty, government civilians, and contract personnel in three groups and the wing staff. In addition, as the 432 AEW Vice Commander, he assists in the execution of operational authorities for the Combined Forces and Joint Forces Air Component Commanders for 432d Wing units as well as twelve Air National Guard combat MQ-1B and MQ-9 units across the United States.

Colonel Bissonnette was commissioned in 1992 as an ROTC graduate of Princeton University. He has served in a variety of operational flying, staff and command assignments at the squadron, group, numbered air force and joint levels. He was the Deputy Commander of the 432d Operations Group, Commander of the 432d Operations Support Squadron and served as the Director of Operations of the 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance and the 15th Reconnaissance Squadrons and a student at the National War College at Ft. McNair, Washington, D.C. Most recently, he served as the Chief of the United States Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command’s Joint Operations Coordination Element and was the primary operations liaison element within the Republic of Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Colonel Bissonnette is a command pilot with more than 3,500 total flying hours in the MQ-1, MC-12, F-15 C/D, and B-52H, including over 400 combat hours in Operations DESERT FOX, NOBLE EAGLE, SOUTHERN and NORTHERN WATCH, ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM and UNIFIED PROTECTOR.

EDUCATION
1992 Bachelor of Science & Engineering, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton N.J.
1999 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2007 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., Distinguished Graduate
2007 Master of Science, Military Operational Art & Science, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2009 Air War College, correspondence
2014 Master of Science, National Security Strategy, National War College, Washington, D.C.
2014 National War College, Ft. McNair, Washington, D.C.

ASSIGNMENTS

  1. September 1993 – September 1994, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Vance Air Force Base (AFB), Okla.
  2. October 1994 – April 1995, Student, B-52 training, 11th Bomb Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La.
  3. April 1995 – August 1999, Assistant Flight Commander, 20th Bomb Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La.
  4. September 1999 – November 1999, Student, Squadron Officer’s School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
  5. December 1999 – November 2000, Student, F-15C training, 1st Fighter Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
  6. December 2000 – July 2003, Flight Commander, 94th Fighter Squadron, Langley AFB, Va.
  7. July 2003 – July 2005, Director of Operations, 39th Operations Squadron, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
  8. August 2005 – June 2006, Assistant Director of Operations, 60th Fighter Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.
  9. July 2006 – June 2007, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
  10. July 2007 – May 2008, Chief of Combat Plans Branch, 611th Air Operations Center, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
  11. June 2008 – September 2009, Executive Officer to the Commander, Alaskan Command, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
  12. October 2009 – December 2009, Student, MQ-1B training, 11th Reconnaissance Squadron, Creech AFB, Nev.
  13. January 2010 – July 2010, Director of Operations, 15th Reconnaissance Squadron, Creech AFB, Nev. (August 2010 – April 2011, Director of Operations, 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan)
  14. May 2011 – May 2013, Commander, 432d Operations Support Squadron, Creech AFB, Nev.
  15. May 2013 – July 2013, Deputy Commander, 432d Operations Group, Creech AFB, Nev.
  16. July 2013 – June 2014, student, National War College, Ft McNair, Washington, D.C.
  17. July 2014 – July 2016, Chief, USFK/CFC Joint Operations Coordination Element, United States Army Garrison Yongsan, Republic of Korea
  18. July 2016 – Present, Vice Commander, 432d Wing and 432d Air Expeditionary Wing, Creech AFB, Nev.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS

1. July 2014 – July 2016, Chief, USFK/CFC Joint Operations Coordination Element, United States Army Garrison Yongsan, Republic of Korea, as a Colonel.

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: More than 3,500
Aircraft flown: MQ-1B, MC-12W, C-12, F-15B/C/D, B-52H

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with six oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Jan. 27, 1993
First Lieutenant Jan. 27, 1995
Captain Jan. 27, 1997
Major June 1, 2003
Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 2008
Colonel Nov. 1, 2014

Details

Date:
November 9, 2017
Time:
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Event Category:

Organizer

Las Vegas Rotary Club
Phone
(702) 433-7451
View Organizer Website

Venue

Lawry’s The Prime Rib
4043 Howard Hughes Pkwy
Las Vegas, NE 89169 United States
+ Google Map
Phone
(702) 893-2223
View Venue Website

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