BIOGRAPHY

COLONEL PAUL A. TOMBARGE

Colonel Paul A. Tombarge is the Commander, Detachment 825, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) and the Chair, Department of Air and Space Force Science, The University of Texas at Austin. Colonel Tombarge leads a team of seven active duty cadre and two civilian staff in recruiting, training, educating, and inspiring a cadet wing comprised of officer candidates attending The University of Texas at Austin to become leaders of character for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. Upon successful completion of a bacalaurate degree and a four-year AFROTC program consisting of academics, military training, leadership, and character development, he commissions the cadets as second lieutenants in their respective military service. A professor on the University of Texas faculty, Colonel Tombarge also chairs the university's Department of Air and Space Force Science, overseeing development, scheduling, and administration of academic courses covering military history, leadership, ethics, national security affairs, and specialized military topics.

Born and raised in Minnesota, Colonel Tombarge completed AFROTC Field Training in 1990 at Plattsburgh AFB, New York; earned his parachutist wings in 1991 from the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia; and received his commission in 1992 through AFROTC Detachment 415 at the University of Minnesota. A command space operations officer, his operational experience includes tours of duty employing a variety of missile warning, space surveillance and reconnaissance, and space superiority systems in the United States, Europe, and Southwest Asia, as well as planning and controlling Integrated Joint Special Technical Operations in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. He also completed staff tours as an executive officer at the 614th Space Operations (14th Air Force), as an international affairs branch chief in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, and on the faculty of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.

Colonel Tombarge has commanded a deployed space control team, a deployed space control squadron, and was the deputy commander and commander (interim) of 's largest, most geographically separated, and most weapon system diverse operations group; 1,800 personnel at 17 units operating three Air Force installations, the Air Force's second busiest protocol flightline, and 14 different weapon systems at 32 locations in 11 countries. Prior to assuming his current position, Colonel Tombarge was the Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation with accreditation as the Wehrtechnischer Attaché at the United States Embassy in Berlin, Germany. He is currently awaiting transfer to the newly established U.S. Space Force.

EDUCATION: 1992 B.A., Political Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 1998 Squadron Officer School, Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL 2000 Joint Aerospace Command and Control Course, Command and Control Warrior School, Hurlburt Field, FL 2000 M.A., Management-Public Administration, University of Maryland-Europe, Lakenheath, England 2001 Joint Doctrine Air Campaign Course, Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL 2002 Air Command and Staff College (non-resident), Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL 2003 Russia, Europe, and Central Asia Orientation Course, Joint Special Operations University, Hurlburt Field, FL 2004 M.A., International Security Studies, United States Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 2005 Near East and North Africa Area Studies Course, United States State Department Foreign Service Institute, George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center, Washington, DC 2006 G.C., Space Systems, United States Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 2007 Space Applications for Special Operations Course, Joint Special Operations University, Hurlburt Field, FL 2007 Space 300 Capstone Course, National Security Space Institute, Colorado Springs, CO 2007 Air War College (non-resident), Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL 2014 Senior Defense Fellowship, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Sheridan Kaserne, U.S. Army Garrison-Bavaria, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany ASSIGNMENTS: 1. Feb 93-Jun 93: Student, Undergraduate Space Training, 319th Space Training Squadron, Lowry AFB, CO. 2. Jun 93-Jul 93: Student, AN/FPS-123 PAVE Phased Array Warning System Initial Qualification Training, 21st Crew Training Squadron, Peterson AFB, CO. 3. Jul 93-May 97: Crew Commander; Instructor; Evaluator; Chief, Standardization and Evaluation; and Operations Flight Commander, 7th Space Warning Squadron, Beale AFB, CA. 4. May 97-Dec 99: Operations Flight Commander; Chief, Operations Training; and Tactics Flight Commander, 5th Space Surveillance Squadron, Royal Air Force Station Feltwell, United Kingdom. (Sep-Oct 99: Student, Unit Qualification Training, 2nd Command & Control Squadron, Schriever AFB, CO.) 5. Dec 99-May 02: Chief, Special Programs Operations; Chief, Special Technical Operations Training and Evaluation; and Special Technical Operations Flight Commander, 614th Space Operations Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, CA. (Mar-Apr 02: Student, Secretary of the Air Force Language and Area Studies Immersion Program, IFK Sprachschule, Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.) 6. May 02-Jun 03: Executive Officer to the Commander, 614th Space Operations Group; the Chief, Plans and Operations, 14th Air Force; and the Director, U.S. Space Command Air Forces Air and Space Operations Center, Vandenberg AFB, CA. 7. Jun 03-Oct 04: Intermediate Developmental Education Student, Department of National Security Affairs, School of International Graduate Studies, United States Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. 8. Oct 04-Jun 06: Deputy Chief, Military Personnel Exchange Program and Chief, International Affairs Specialist Branch, International Airmen Division, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force (International Affairs), Headquarters United States Air Force, The Pentagon, Washington, DC. 9. Jun 06-May 09: Operations Officer, 20th Space Control Squadron, Eglin AFB, FL. (Sep 07-Jan 08: Deployment Commander, Operation SILENT SENTRY, U.S. Central Command Air Forces, Southwest Asia in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, and the Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa.) 10. May 09-Apr 11: Commander, 16th Space Control Squadron, Peterson AFB, CO and deployed locations. 11. Apr 11-Jul 13: Deputy Commander and Commander (interim), , Peterson AFB, CO. 12. Jul 13-Aug 15: Senior Defense Fellow and Deputy Course Director, College of International and Security Studies, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Sheridan Kaserne, U.S. Army Garrison-Bavaria, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. (Aug-Sep 14: Student, Secretary of the Air Force Language and Area Studies Immersion Program, GLS Sprachenzentrum, Berlin, Germany. Jun-Jul 15: Student, Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.) 13. Aug 15-Jul 18: Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation, Directorate of Policy, Strategy, Partnering, and Capabilities (ECJ5/8), United States European Command, United States Embassy, Berlin, Germany. 14. Jul 18-Present: Commander, Detachment 825, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and Chair, Department of Air and Space Force Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS: Aug 15-Jul 18: Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation, Directorate of Policy, Strategy, Partnering, and Capabilities (ECJ5/8), United States European Command, United States Embassy, Berlin, Germany, as a colonel.

AEROSPACE INFORMATION: Ratings: Command Space Operations Officer Master Foreign Area Officer (Europe) Military Parachutist

Space Warfighting Functional Experience Areas: Space Electronic Warfare and Space Battle Management

Space Systems: AN/FPS-123 PAVE Phased Array Warning System (PAVE PAWS) Low Altitude Space Surveillance System (LASS) Deep Space Tracking System (DSTS) AN/FPS-85 Phased Array Space Surveillance Radar Rapid Attack Identification, Detection, Reporting System (RAIDRS) Deployable Ground Segment Standardized Process for Interference Recognition and Interference Targeting (SPIRIT) Bounty Hunter AN/USQ-163 Falconer Air and Space Operations Center (AOC)

Crew Hours: More than 4,000

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS: Defense Superior Service Medal Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters Air Force Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster Air Force Achievement Medal Meritorious Unit Award with one Oak Leaf Cluster Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with eight Oak Leaf Clusters Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with one Oak Leaf Cluster National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal Air and Space Campaign Medal Air Force Overseas Tour Ribbon (Long) with two Oak Leaf Clusters Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon with six Oak Leaf Clusters Small Arms Expert Marksman Ribbon with Bronze Star Device Air Force Training Ribbon

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS: Distinguished Graduate, Joint Aerospace Command and Control Course: 2000 Air Force Space Command “Guardian Challenge” Competitor: 1997, 1998, 1999 CMSgt Robert G.V. Pecqueur Award as Best Space Control Squadron in Air Force Space Command: 2008, 2010 General Lance W. Lord Award for Excellence in Unit Operational Leadership: 2008 Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps National “Team of the Year”: 2018 Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps National “Detachment of the Year”: 2019

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION: Second Lieutenant 19 June 1992 First Lieutenant 19 October 1994 Captain 19 October 1996 Major 1 April 2003 Lieutenant Colonel 1 April 2008 Colonel 1 July 2014

(Current as of July 2020)