Colonel Jonathan E. Tucker is the Commander, 314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. He leads a team of military and civilian professionals who train and graduate over 1,200 C-130 aircrew members annually from across the Department of Defense, Coast Guard, and 47 partner nations. The 314th Airlift Wing serves as the United States' C-130 “Center of Excellence” for tactical airlift.
Prior to his current assignment, Colonel Tucker was the Director of Test and Evaluation at Air Mobility Command. In this position, he was responsible for all AMC Operational Test and Evaluation operations including test planning, budgeting, execution and reporting of Acquisition Category III and below programs to provide objective test data and results to the AMC Commander.
Colonel Tucker earned his commission through ROTC at the University of Alabama in 1997 while earning an undergraduate degree in Computer Science. His previous assignments include evaluator pilot and weapons officer instructor duties in the C-130E/H; Vice Commander, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing; Deputy Division Chief and Executive Airlift Branch Chief, Joint Operational Support Airlift Center, Operations and Plans Directorate, United States Transportation Command; Commander, 734th Air Mobility Squadron; Chief of Safety, 36th Wing; and Vice Commander, 378th Air Expeditionary Wing.
EDUCATION
1997 Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
2004 Squadron Officer School, in residence, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2005 United States Air Force Weapons School, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
2008 Air Command and Staff College, nonresident program, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2009 Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Webster University, St Louis, Mo.
2012 Master’s Degree in Military Operational Art and Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2013 Air War College, nonresident program, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. February 1998 – August 1998, Transition Officer, AFROTC Detachment 10, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
2. August 1998 – March 1999, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
3. March 1999 – October 1999, Student, Joint Undergraduate Pilot Training, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas
4. October 1999 – May 2000, Student, C-130 Pilot Training, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
5. May 2000 – May 2003, C-130E Pilot / Aircraft Commander, 37th Airlift Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
6. June 2003 – January 2005, C-130H Instructor Pilot / Flight Commander, 50th Airlift Squadron, Little Rock Air Force
Base, Ark.
7. January 2005 – June 2005, Student, United States Air Force Weapons Instructor Course, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
8. June 2005 – June 2006, C-130H Evaluator and Weapons Officer, 50th Airlift Squadron, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
9. June 2006 – August 2008, Assistant Director of Operations and Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 29th Weapons Squadron, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
10. November 2008 – June 2010, Chief of Tactics and DV Airlift Plans, 603rd Air and Space Operations Center, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
11. May 2010 – July 2011, Deputy Chief of the Commanders Action Group – Mobility, Headquarters – United States Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
12. July 2011 – June 2012, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
13. July 2012 – June 2014, Chief, Air Armament Division, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Detachment 2, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
14. July 2014 – February 2015, Chief of Safety, 36th Wing, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam
15. February 2015 – August 2017, Commander, 734th Air Mobility Squadron, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam
16. August 2017 – September 2019, Deputy Division Chief/Executive Airlift Branch Chief, USTRANSCOM, Scott AFB, Ill.
17. September 2019 – May 2020, Director, Test and Evaluation, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
18. May 2020 – December 2020, Vice Commander, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan
19. December 2020 – June 2020, Vice Commander, 378th Air Expeditionary Wing, Prince Sultan Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
20. June 2020 – June 2022, Director, Test and Evaluation, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
21. June 2022 – Present, Commander, 314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 2017 – September 2019, Deputy Division Chief/Executive Airlift Branch Chief, USTRANSCOM, Scott AFB, Ill., as a colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Senior Pilot
Flight hours: Over 2,600 (586 in combat)
Aircraft flown: C-130 E/H3/J, T-44 and T-37
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and "C" device
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor Device and four oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal with device
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Kosovo Campaign Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with device
Iraq Campaign Medal with device
Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War On Terrorism Service Medal
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border and three oak leaf clusters
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant January 17, 1998
First Lieutenant January 17, 2000
Captain January 17, 2002
Major July 1, 2007
Lieutenant Colonel December 1, 2012
​Colonel April 1, 2019
(Current as of June 2022)