Col. David J. Blair is the Deputy Commander, 353d Special Operations Wing, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. The wing provides U.S. Indo-Pacific Command with combat-ready Air Force Special Operations forces, operating from Kadena and Yokota Air Bases. The wing employs Special Tactics Teams, MC-130J Commando II, and CV-22B Osprey aircraft.
Col. Blair received his commission in 2002 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Academy. After graduation, he earned his Master of Public Policy as a National Security Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School before transitioning to undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base. He served multiple expeditionary tours as an AC-130U pilot before serving as an MQ-1B instructor pilot at Cannon AFB. Col. Blair was then initial cadre for the Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s Strategic PhD Program, where he wrote a dissertation under Dr. Daniel Byman on competitive innovation and counter-network strategies. Col. Blair commanded the “Lucky Dicers” of the 65th Special Operations Squadron, where he led the Special Operations MQ-9 crews in combat across four theaters of war. With the outbreak of hostilities against ISIS, Col. Blair volunteered to return to the MQ-9 and directed high-intensity combat operations against senior leader networks, where he led strikes on a series of Presidentially approved targets.
Prior to his current position, Col. Blair served as the Director of the CSAF’s Strategic Studies Group (SSG). He previously led the SSG’s Office of Disruptive Thinking, which is tasked with accelerating the U.S. Air Force’s innovation ecosystem and direct it towards strategic competition.
EDUCATION
2002 Bachelor of Science in Political Science, Area Studies & Russian, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
2004 Master of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Mass.
2013 Master of Arts in International Relations, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
2013 Next Generation National Security Leaders Program, Center for New American Security, Washington, D.C.
2014 Future Leaders Program, Foreign Policy Initiative
2014 Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
2015 Program for Emerging Leaders, National Defense University Center for the Study of WMD, Washington, D.C.
2018 Joint Forces Staff College, Joint and Combined Warfighting School, Norfolk, Va.
2022 Master of Arts in Strategy and Technology, U.S. Air Force Blue Horizons, Center for Strategy and Technology, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
2002 - 2004, National Security Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Mass. (Internships: Research Assistant, Research and Analysis Division, Naval War College; Air Attaché’s Assistant, Defense Attaché Office, Moscow, Russia.)
2004 - 2005 Student Pilot, Laughlin Air Force Base & Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas
2005 - 2007 AC-130U Pilot, 4th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla. (three tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom)
2007 - 2011 MQ-1B Instructor Pilot, 3d Special Operations Squadron, Cannon AFB, N.M. (Operation Enduring Freedom & Horn of Africa Deployments)
2011 - 2014 Initial Cadre, Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s Strategic PhD Program, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
2014 - 2016 MQ-9 Evaluator Pilot, Operations Officer, 3d Special Operations Squadron, Cannon AFB, N.M.
2016 - 2018 Senior Aviation Policy Advisor, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.
2018 - 2020 Commander, 65th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2020 - 2021 Director, Air Force Special Operations Command Cochran Group (Commander’s Initiatives Group), Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2021 - 2022 Fellow, U.S. Air Force Blue Horizons, Center for Strategy and Technology, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2022 - 2023 MORPHEUS Lead & Innovation Strategist, Strategic Studies Group, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
2023 - 2025 Director, CSAF Strategic Studies Group, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
2025 - Present Deputy Commander, 353d Special Operations Wing, Kadena AB, Japan
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
December 2016 – December 2018, Special Operations Aviation Policy Advisor and Deputy Director, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, Pentagon, Va.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: More than 2,300, including more than 700 combat and 1,200 combat support hours
Aircraft flown: MQ-9A, MQ-1B, AC-130U, C-130E/H, T-44A, T-6A
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with seven oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal
Presidential Unit Citation
Iraq & Afghanistan Campaign Medals
Remote Combat Effects Medal with three service stars
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2002 Distinguished Graduate, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
2005 Distinguished Graduate, Undergraduate Pilot Training
2018 Joint Forces Staff College Commandant’s Writing Award
2018 Plank Holder, 65th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant 29 May 2002
First Lieutenant 29 May 2004
Captain 29 May 2006
Major 1 March 2012
Lieutenant Colonel 1 Feb. 2017
Colonel 1 June 2023
(Current as of June 2025)