Col. Jennifer Fitch is the deputy commander of the 931st Air Refueling Wing, McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. The Wing reports to 4th Air Force, March Air Reserve Base, California, and is an Air Force Reserve KC-46A Pegasus associate unit working alongside the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB. In conjunction with the 22nd ARW, the 931st ARW supports Air Mobility command’s worldwide air refueling mission, meeting the air refueling needs of all U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine and selected allied nations’ aircraft. In addition, they supplement AMC’s strategic airlift capability. Furthermore, members of the 931st ARW are engaged in a cross section of combat support services for all U.S. military branches in times of peace, war and national emergency within the United States and abroad.
After graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1997, Fitch completed pilot training. During her assignments, she flew airlift missions in direct support of operations ENDURING and IRAQI FREEDOM. She has since served as an instructor and evaluator pilot in the C-130E and C-130H and is a command pilot with over 2,900 hours. Fitch has served on active duty and in the Air Force Reserve. She has held a variety of positions in airlift wings including Wing Executive Officer, Operations Group Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, and Squadron Commander. While serving as the IMA to the Commander, Col Fitch served as Command Center Director at NORAD and USNORTHCOM , Vice Commander of the 21st Space Wing and Vice Commander of the Peterson-Schriever Garrison.
EDUCATION:
1997 Bachelor of Science, Mathematics, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana
2004 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
2010 Master of Business Administration, Trident University International, Cypress, California
2012 Air Command and Staff College by correspondence
2014 Air War College by correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. May 1977 – March 1988, AFIT Language Program, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana
2. March 1998 – October 1988, T-37B Student Pilot, 37th Flying Training Squadron, Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi
3. October 1998 – May 1999, T-44A Student Pilot, VT-31 Training Squadron, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas
4. May 1999 – July 2003, Flight Safety Officer and Pilot Scheduler, 2nd Airlift Squadron, Pope AFB, North Carolina
5. July 2003 – September 2005, Central Scheduler and Flight Commander, 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan
6. September 2005 – June 2006, Group Executive Officer, 43d Operations Group, Pope AFB, North Carolina
7. June 2006 – March 2008, Wing Executive Officer, 43rd Airlift Wing, Pope AFB, North Carolina
8. March 2008 – September 2009, Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 95th Airlift Squadron, Pope AFB, North Carolina
9. September 2009 – January 2012, Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 440th Operations Group, Pope AFB, North Carolina
10. January 2012 – March 2013, Chief of Training, 440th Operations Group, Pope AFB, North Carolina
11. March 2013 – August 2015, Director of Operations, 444th Operations Support Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina
12. August 2015 – October 2016, Commander, 911th Operations Support Squadron, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
13. October 2016 – August 2018, Command Center Director, Air Domain Chief, NORAD & NUSNORTHCOM, and Deputy Chief, Exercise Branch, NORAD, Peterson AFB, Colorado
14. August 2018 – May 2020, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Commander, 21st Space Wing, Peterson AFB, Colorado
15. May 2020 – July 2020, Vice Commander, 21st Space Wing, Peterson AFB, Colorado
16. July 2020 – February 2021, Vice Commander, Peterson-Schriever Garrison, Peterson AFB, Colorado
17. February 2021 – June 2022, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Commander, Peterson-Schriever Garrison, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado
18. June 2022 – Present, Deputy Commander, 931st Air Refueling Wing, McConnell AFB, Kansas
FLIGHT INFORMATION:
Rating: command pilot
Military Flight Hours: 2,900 hours (625 instructor hours, 162 evaluator hours)
Aircraft Flown: T-37B, T-44A, C-130E, C-130H
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS:
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION:
Second Lieutenant, June 16, 1997
First Lieutenant, June 16, 1999
Captain, June 16, 2001
Major, April 1, 2007
Lieutenant Colonel, August 10, 2012
Colonel, August 22, 2018
(Current as of September 2023)