Colonel Jay A. Johnson is the Commander, 71st Flying Training Wing, Vance Air Force Base, Okla. He leads a wing of over 2,700 personnel conducting specialized undergraduate pilot training for more than 400 U.S. Air Force and Allied student pilots each year. The wing operates a fleet of over 200 aircraft, flies more than 55,000 sorties and logs over 80,000 flying hours each year. He is also responsible for executing $550 million in flying and base operations contracts.
Colonel Johnson graduated from San Francisco State University and received his commission as a distinguished graduate from the University of California at Berkeley in 1999. His service and leadership experience spans several key operational and staff positions at the Squadron, Wing, and Joint Staff levels. He is a graduate of Air Mobility Command’s Phoenix Mobility program and the Defense Legislative Fellowship. He served as Joint Staff, J-5, Strategic Plans and Policy Action Officer, Executive Assistant to the Director, Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell and International Training, Education and Policy Division Chief, under the Director of Policy, Programs & Strategy, Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force (International Affairs). He most recently served as the Vice Commander, 71st Flying Training Wing.
His deployment experience includes Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.
EDUCATION
1999 Bachelor of Arts degree in social science, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, Calif.
2006 Top Third Graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2008 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence.
2009 Master’s degree in Aviation Safety with distinction, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Fla.
2011 Air Force Fellow, Capitol Hill Legislative Fellowship Program, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
2013 Air War College, by correspondence.
2017 Distinguished Graduate, Master’s degree in national security and strategic studies, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
2020 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. February 1999 – November 1999, Operations Staff Officer, 726th Air Control Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
2. November 1999 – November 2000, Student, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus AFB, Miss.
3. November 2000 – February 2004, T-1A Stan/Eval Instructor Pilot and Executive Officer, 48th Flying Training Squadron, Columbus AFB, Miss.
4. February 2004 – July 2007, 60th Air Mobility Wing Executive Officer, KC-10A Instructor Aircraft Commander and Flight Commander, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
5. July 2007 – May 2008, Phoenix Mobility Program, Command and Control Flight Commander, 573d Global Support Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
6. May 2008 – July 2009, Phoenix Mobility Program, Assistant Director of Operations, Training Flight Commander and Air Refueling Control Team Chief, 15th Air Mobility Operations Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
7. July 2009 – June 2010, Phoenix Mobility Program, Director of Operations and Contingency Response Element Operations Officer, 571st Global Mobility Readiness Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
8. June 2010 – December 2011, Legislative Fellow for House Armed Services Committee Member, Washington, D.C.
9. December 2011 – June 2014, Executive Assistant to the Director and Action Officer, Joint Staff (J5) Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
10. June 2014 – June 2015, Commander, 571st Global Mobility Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
11. June 2015 – June 2016, Commander, 921st Contingency Response Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
12. June 2016 – June 2017, Student, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
13. June 2017 – June 2018, Branch Chief, International Training & Education, Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force (International Affairs), the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
14. June 2018 – December 2018, Division Chief, International Training, Education, and Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force (International Affairs), the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
15. December 2018 – February 2021, Vice Commander, 71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB, Okla.
16. February 2021 – Present, Commander, 71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB, Okla.
JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
December 2011 – March 2014, Executive Assistant to the Director and Action Officer, Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell (J5), Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a major and later lieutenant colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Hours flown: More than 3,300
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-1, T-6, and KC-10
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
NATO Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant January 18, 1999
First Lieutenant January 18, 2001
Captain January 18, 2003
Major September 1, 2008
Lieutenant Colonel November 1, 2012
Colonel February 1, 2019
(Current as of March 2021)