Colonel James E. Long Jr. commands the 8th Maintenance Group at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea. As commander, he is responsible for the daily flying and maintenance operations, intermediate level maintenance, component repair and maintenance training for a combat wing with 44 permanently assigned F-16 fighter jet aircraft. He controls and allocates resources, directs the activities of more than 1,200 personnel, manages an annual budget of more than $650K and develops and implements plans to meet wing operational taskings.

Colonel Long earned his commission through AFROTC at the University of Miami graduating with a Degree in Computer Engineering.  He entered active duty in 1993 and was a distinguished graduate of the Aircraft Maintenance and Munitions Officer Course.  He is a master aircraft maintainer with experience on ten different weapons systems including:  A-10A/C, B-1B, F-22A, F-15C, F-15E, F-16 (all blocks), C-130H, KC-135A/R, HC-130P/J and HH-60.  He has held leadership positions across the Department of Defense’s logistics enterprise and deployed in support of both Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.  Prior to his current assignment, Colonel Long was Chief, Maintenance Inspection Division, Inspector General, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,Hawaii.  He is married to a Psychologist and they have four children.    

EDUCATION

1992  Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL

1998  Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL

2003  Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, AL

2006  Master of Military Arts and Sciences Degree, Command and General Staff College, Ft Leavenworth, KS

2006  Army Command and General Staff College, Ft Leavenworth, KS

2012  Air War College, Maxwell AFB, AL

ASSIGNMENTS

1.  May 1993 - December 1995, Commander, Maintenance and Munitions Flights, 7th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas

2.  December 1995 - November 1996, Commander, Sortie Generation Flight, 9th Bomb Squadron, Dyess AFB, TX

3.  November 1996 - June 1999, F-22 Maintenance Program Manager and Integrated Maintenance Information System Team Lead, F-22 Logistics Support Division, Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan AFB, CA

4.  June 1999 - July 2002, F-22 Maintainability Lead, F-22 Integrated Logistics Acquisition Team Chief, and Executive Officer, F-22 System Program Office, Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

5.  June 2002 - October 2002, Squadron Maintenance Officer, 56th Rescue Squadron, NAS Keflavik, Iceland

6.  October 2002 - June 2003, Aircraft Maintenance Supervisor, 85th Maintenance Squadron, NAS Keflavik, Iceland

(March 2003 - May 2003, Squadron Maintenance Officer, 56th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron)

7.  July 2003 - June 2004, Operations Officer, 20th Component Maintenance Squadron Shaw AFB, SC

8.  June 2004 - May 2005, Operations Officer, 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Shaw AFB, SC

9.  May 2005 - June 2006, Student, Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS

10. July 2006 - June 2007, Operations Officer, 57th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Nellis AFB, NV

11. June 2007 - July 2009, Commander, 57th Component Maintenance Squadron, Nellis AFB, NV

12. July 2009 - June 2012, Chief, Logistics Officer Assignments Branch and Chief, Commander’s Action Group, Air Force Personnel Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, TX

(May 2010 - Dec 2010, Chief, Requirements Division, US Central Command Deployment and Distribution Operations Center (CDDOC), Camp Arifjan, Kuwait)

13. June 2012 - July 2015, Deputy Commander, 23d Maintenance Group, Moody AFB, GA

14. July 2015 - June 16, Chief, Maintenance Inspection Division, Inspector General, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
15. June 2016 - Present, Commander, 8th Maintenance Group, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS

1. May 2010 – December 2010, Chief, Requirements Division, US Central Command Deployment and Distribution Operations Center (CDDOC), Camp Arifjan, Kuwait as a lieutenant colonel

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Defense Meritorious Service Medal

Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters

Air Force Commendation Medal

Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster

Joint Meritorious Unit Award

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

1999 AF Daedalian Weapons System Award, Colonel Franklin C Wolfe Memorial Trophy (as F-22 Maintainability Lead)

2002 ACC Maintenance Effectiveness Award (as Squadron Maintenance Officer, 56th Rescue Squadron)

2003 ACC CINC Installation Excellence Special Recognition Award (as Operations Officer, 20th Component Maintenance Squadron)

2006 US Air Force Warfare Center General Lew Allen Award, Field-grade Officer Category

2008 ACC Major General Clements McMullen Weapons System Maintenance Award (as Commander, 57th Component Maintenance Squadron)

2012 SecDef Field Level Maintenance Excellence Award (as Deputy Commander, 23d Maintenance Group)

2015 ACC Major General Clements McMullen Weapons System Maintenance Award (as Deputy Commander, 23d Maintenance Group)

PUBLICATIONS

2002 – “A Day in the Life of an F-22 Raptor Maintainer”, The Exceptional Release, Spring 2002 published by the Logistics Officer Association

2006 – “Army Logistics 101”, The Exceptional Release, Spring 2006 published by the Logistics Officer Association

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

Second Lieutenant January 21, 1993

First Lieutenant January 21, 1995

Captain January 21, 1997

Major June 1, 2003

Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 2008

Colonel September 1, 2015