Colonel Christopher M. Hanson is the 366th Mission Support Group Commander, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. He oversees six combat-ready squadrons with a diverse group of personnel. The Gunfighters of the Mission Support Group provide communications, security, contracting, engineering, services, supply, fuels, transportation, and mobility support to the 366th Fighter Wing, including three flying squadrons and 4,000 base personnel. In wartime, the group provides all elements to deploy to bare base environments, establish infrastructure, and support air operations.
Colonel Hanson is a 2000 graduate from the Florida Institute of Technology and received his commission from the Officer Training School in August 2001. His assignments include Senior Military Assistant to the DoD Chief Sustainability Office and Senior Climate Advisor to the Secretary of Defense, and was a Division Chief and Airpower Strategist with Air Force’s CHECKMATE. Col Hanson served at the wing, Army corps and service component, numbered air force, joint command staff, Air & Army Staff levels, and in the Immediate Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Colonel Hanson deployed in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM serving as the Assistant Joint Meteorological and Oceanography Officer for Combined Joint Task Force 7, Camp Victory and then as the J3 Air Chief for Combined Special Operations Task Force Arabian Peninsula, Balad AB, Iraq. Finally, Colonel Hanson served as the Joint Meteorological and Oceanography Officer during the 2011 Japan tsunami and nuclear disaster relief effort.
EDUCATION
2000 Bachelor of Science, Meteorology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL
2002 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell AFB, AL
2007 Master of Science, Satellite Meteorology, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA
2008 Squadron Officer School, in residence, Maxwell AFB, AL
2010 Air Command and Staff College, correspondence, Maxwell AFB, AL
2013 Masters of Science, National Security and Strategy Studies, Naval War College, RI
2016 Air War College, correspondence, Maxwell, AFB, AL
2022 Joint Combined Warfighting School, in residence, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, VA
2023 The Future of Leadership: Human and AI Collaboration in the Workforce Course, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Newton, MA
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Aug 01 – Jul 03, Weather Officer & Assistant Flight Commander, 28th Operational Weather Squadron, Shaw AFB, SC
2. Jul 03 – Jun 05, Battlefield Weather Team Officer-in-Charge, Detachment 6, 7th Weather Squadron, Wiesbaden AAF, Germany
3. Jul 05 – Mar 07, AFIT Student, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA
4. Mar 07 – May 08, Typhoon Duty Officer, Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI
5. May 08 – Jul 08, Executive Officer, 613th Support Group, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI
6. Jul 08 – Oct 08, HQ Section Commander, 13th Air Force, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI
7. Oct 08 – Apr 09, J3 Air Chief, Combined Special Operations Task Force Arabian Peninsula, Balad AB, Iraq
8. Apr 09 – Apr 10, Operations Flight Commander, 17th Operational Weather Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI
9. Apr 10 – May 11, Weather Flight Commander, 374th Operations Support Squadron, Yokota AB, Japan
10. May 11 – Feb 13, Aide-de-Camp, United States Forces, Japan and 5th Air Force, Yokota AB, Japan
11. Feb 13 – Jul 13, Assistant Director of Operations, 374th Operations Support Squadron, Yokota AB, Japan
12. Jul 13 – Jul 14, Naval Command and Staff College Student, Naval War College, Newport, RI
13. Jul 14 – Jul 16, Director of Operations, 21st Operational Weather Squadron, Kapaun AS, Germany
14. Jul 16 – Jul 18, Commander, 7th Weather Squadron & 7th Expeditionary Weather Squadron, Clay Kaserne, Wiesbaden, Germany
15. Jul 18 – Apr 20, Chief, Army Weather Policy, G-2, Headquarters Department of the Army, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
16. May 20 – Apr 21, Director, AF/A3 Action Group, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
17. Apr 21 – Jun 22, Division Chief, Eurasia-Americas Division, CHECKMATE, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
18. Jul 22 – Jun 23, Senior Military Assistant to DoD Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Climate Advisor, Immediate Office of the Secretary of Defense, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
19. Jul 23 – Jun 24, Chief, Weather Requirements Division, Directorate of Plans, Programs,
Requirements, and Analyses, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint-Base Langley-Eustis, VA
20. Jul 24 – Present, Commander, 366th Mission Support Group, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
(Current as of 28 Aug 2024)