Lieutenant Colonel Craig Theisen served in the U.S. Air Force for over 20 years, holding positions such as Chief of Western Europe and NATO Exercises and commander of a highly deployable squadron. He was commissioned through ROTC in 1992 and served as an EF-111 fighter pilot and KC-10 instructor pilot, flying over 1,900 total hours including 1,000 in combat. Lt. Col. Theisen also had extensive experience in staff assignments at U.S. European Command and leading numerous teams in Iraq and Afghanistan. He retired from the Air Force in 2015.

1. LIEUTENANT
COLONEL
CRAIG
THEISEN,
U.S.
AIR
FORCE
(Retired)
Lieutenant
Colonel
Craig
Theisen
served
most
recently
as
Chief,
Western
Europe
and
NATO
Exercises
for
United
States
European
Command.
Lt
Col
Theisen
was
commissioned
in
1992
through
the
ROTC
program
at
the
University
of
Washington.
Following
graduation,
he
served
in
a
variety
of
operational
assignments,
initially
as
a
EF-­‐111
fighter
pilot
and
flight
lead
and
subsequently
as
a
KC-­‐
10
instructor
pilot.
Colonel
Theisen
commanded
at
the
squadron
level,
and
has
flown
in
multiple
combat
operations
in
Southwest
Asia
and
Afghanistan.
Colonel
Theisen
has
held
a
variety
of
staff
assignments,
to
include
U.S.
European
Command,
15th
Expeditionary
Mobility
Task
Force,
Aeronautical
Systems
Center,
Congressional
liaison
for
the
B-­‐2
Bomber
Acquisition
Program,
U.S.
mobility
representative
to
Kandahar
Airfield,
ISAF
Airfield
Management
team
lead
for
OIF/OEF,
and
Strategy
Chief
and
Airlift
Planner
for
Operation
Unified
Assistance
relief
effort
following
the
tsunami
of
2004.
Prior
to
his
final
assignment
Lt
Col
Theisen
was
Commander
of
a
highly
deployable
squadron,
fielding
alert
forces
with
12-­‐hour
response
worldwide
to
open
or
augment
airfield
operations.
In
this
role
Lt
Col
Theisen
led
numerous
teams
throughout
Iraq
and
Afghanistan,
evaluating
airfield
operations,
equipment
and
surfaces
in
preparation
for
surge
operations.
Colonel
Theisen
is
a
senior
pilot
in
widely
different
airframes
who
has
flown
1,900
hours,
over
1,000
of
which
were
in
combat.
EDUCATION
1992
Bachelor’s
Degree
in
Sociology
(with
distinction),
University
of
Washington
1998
Squadron
Officer
School,
Maxwell
AFB,
AL
2003
Air
Command
and
Staff
College
(correspondence)
2004
Master's
degree
in
transportation
management/air
mobility,
USAF
Air
Mobility
Warfare
Center
and
Air
Force
Institute
of
Technology,
Fort
Dix,
N.J.
2008
Air
War
College
(correspondence)
2010
Joint
Forces
Staff
College,
Norfolk,
VA.
2015
(projected)
Master’s
Degree
in
Social
Work,
Columbia
University,
New
York

2. ASSIGNMENTS
1993-­‐1994
Student,
Undergraduate
Pilot
Training,
Vance
Air
Force
Base,
OK
1994-­‐1998
Fighter
pilot
and
flight
lead,
EF-­‐111A,
Cannon
Air
Force
Base,
NM
1998-­‐1999
Congressional
&
HQ
Liaison,
B-­‐2
Bomber,
Wright-­‐Patterson
AFB,
OH
1999-­‐2000
Commander’s
Action
Group,
Aeronautical
Systems
Center,
WPAFB,
OH
2000-­‐2001
Pilot,
instructor
pilot
and
flight
lead,
KC-­‐10A,
McGuire
AFB,
NJ
2001-­‐2003
Flight
Commander
and
Chief
of
Safety,
2d
Aerial
Refueling
Squadron
2003-­‐2004
Student,
Advanced
Study
in
Air
Mobility,
Fort
Dix,
NJ
2004-­‐2005
Tanker
and
airlift
planner,
Air
Mobility
Operations
Sq,
Travis
AFB,
CA
2005-­‐2006
Operations
Flight
Commander,
Air
Mob
Ops
Sq,
Travis
AFB,
CA
2006-­‐2007
Operations
Officer,
572
Global
Mobility
Squadron,
Travis
AFB,
CA
2007-­‐2008
Executive
Officer
to
the
Commander,
15th
EMTF,
Travis
AFB,
CA
2008-­‐2010
Commander,
570
Global
Mobility
Readiness
Squadron,
Travis
AFB,
CA
2010-­‐2013
Chief,
Western
Europe
and
NATO
Joint/Combined,
Exercises,
USEUCOM,
Stuttgart,
Germany
CERTIFICATIONS/QUALIFICATIONS
CAOC
Initial
Qualification
(Tanker
Planner),
Distinguished
Graduate,
2005
Duty
Position
Qualified
CAOC
Airlift
Planner,
Tsunami
Relief,
2005
JTF-­‐PO
Operations
Officer,
2008
JTF-­‐PO
Airfield
Assessment
Team
Lead,
2008
Joint
Qualified
-­‐
EUCOM
J3
staff
and
JPME
II
(Commandant’s
Award),
2010-­‐2013
TS-­‐SCI
–
Clearance
Date
27
October
2011
FLIGHT
INFORMATION
Rating:
Senior
pilot
Flight
hours:
Approximately
1,900,
including
1,000
combat
hours
Aircraft
flown:
AT-­‐38B,
F-­‐111E,
EF-­‐111A,
T-­‐38A,
KC-­‐10A
MAJOR
AWARDS
AND
DECORATIONS
Defense
Meritorious
Service
Medal
Meritorious
Service
Medal
with
oak
leaf
cluster
Air
Medal
with
four
oak
leaf
clusters
Aerial
Achievement
Medal
with
oak
leaf
cluster
AF
Outstanding
Unit
Award
with
Valor
Device
with
seven
oak
leaf
clusters
Armed
Forces
Expeditionary
Medal
Global
War
On
Terrorism
Expeditionary
Medal
Global
War
on
Terrorism
Service
Medal
Humanitarian
Service
Medal
with
oak
leaf
cluster
EFFECTIVE
DATES
OF
PROMOTION
Second
Lieutenant
Dec.
6,
1992
First
Lieutenant
Dec.
6,
1994
Captain
Dec.
6,
1996
Major
May
1,
2003
Lieutenant
Colonel
May
1,
2008