Colonel Dustin C. Richards is the Commander of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The 88th Air Base Wing is the largest air base wing in the Air Force with more than 5,000 officers and enlisted Airmen, Air Force civilians and contractor employees.  The wing provides support and services to the largest, most diverse, and most organizationally complex base in the Air Force which hosts a major acquisition center, research and development laboratories, a major command headquarters, an airlift wing, and the world’s largest military air museum.  The base is home to more than 30,000 military, government civilian, and contractor employees and associate units.

Colonel Richards is a 2001 graduate of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He has served in numerous Wings, Numbered Air Force, Air Staff positions, and commanded a Mission Support Group and three Civil Engineer Squadrons. He has deployed four times in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, IRAQI FREEDOM, NEW DAWN, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL, and RESOLUTE SUPPORT. In his previous assignment, he served as the Senior Military Assistant, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

EDUCATION
2001 Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Ind.
2001 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2005 Master of Science, Engineering Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Oh.
2007 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2010 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2014 Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Va.
2015 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2019 National Defense Fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States, Washington, D.C.
2020 Joint Forces Staff College, Joint and Combined Warfighting School, JPME II, Norfolk, Va.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2001 – August 2003, Chief, SABER, and Deputy Commander, Engineering Flight, 27th Civil Engineer Squadron, Cannon AFB, N.M. (November 2002—June 2003, Project Manager, 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Ahmed Al Jaber AB, Kuwait)
2. August 2003 – August 2005, Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
3. August 2005 – July 2008, Chief of Design and Construction, and Deputy Commander, Operations Flight, 48th Civil Engineer Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom (September 2005 – January 2006, Operations Flight Commander, 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Sather Air Base, Iraq)
4. July 2008 – July 2010, Chief, Asset Management, and Aide-de-Camp to the Commander, 7th Air Force, Osan AB, Republic of Korea
5. July 2010 – April 2012, Legislative Affairs Program Manager, Programs Division, Office of the Civil Engineer, Deputy Chief of Staff for Installations and Logistics, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. (April 2011 – November 2011, Chief of Installations, 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Iraq, Camp Victory and Al Asad AB, Iraq)
6. April 2012 – July 2013, Executive Officer to the Vice Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
7. July 2013 – June 2014, Student, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Va.
8. June 2014 – July 2015, Commander, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron, Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea
9. July 2015 – June 2017, Commander, 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla. (October 2016 – April 2017, Commander, 455th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Bagram AB, Afghanistan)
10. June 2017 – January 2018, Deputy Commander, 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
11. January 2018 – July 2018, Acting Vice Commander, 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
12. July 2018 – June 2019, National Defense Fellow, Atlantic Council, Washington, D.C.
13. June 2019 – May 2020, Deputy Director, Plans and Readiness, Logistics Directorate, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
14. May 2020 – June 2021, Chief of Staff, Logistics Directorate, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
15. June 2021 – June 2023, Commander, 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
16. June 2023 – April 2024, Senior Military Assistant, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
17. April 2024 – Present, Commander, 88th Air Base Wing, Wright-Patterson AFB, Oh.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 2019 – June 2021, Deputy Director, Plans and Readiness, and Chief of Staff, Logistics Directorate, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C., as a colonel

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star
Meritorious Service Medal with six oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal
Armed Forced Expeditionary Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal with two devices
NATO Non-Article Five Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Korean Defense Service Medal
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2005 AFIT Society of Military Engineers Award
2007 Company Grade Officer of the Year, 48th Civil Engineer Squadron
2007 Squadron Officer School Chief of Staff Flight
2007 Squadron Officer School Top Third Graduate
2008 United States Air Forces in Europe Operations Flight of the Year
2012 Company Grade Officer of the Year, Deputy Chief of Staff for Installations and Logistics
2015 Maj Gen L. Dean Fox Award, Air Force Special Operations Command

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Air Force Association
Society of American Military Engineers

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 30, 2001
First Lieutenant May 30, 2003
Captain May 30, 2005
Major August 1, 2011
Lieutenant Colonel February 1, 2015
Colonel March 1, 2019

(Current as of APRIL 2024)