Colonel COLONEL MARK R. WERNERSBACH

Col. Mark Robert Wernersbach is currently serving as the Commander, 109^th Mission Support Group, Stratton Air National Guard Base, Scotia, New York. He leads 390 Airmen responsible for providing Logistics, Civil Engineering, Security Forces, Force Support, Communications, and Contracting support for the employment of the only ski-equipped aircraft in the Department of Defense providing tactical airlift in remote Polar Regions, and ensures Airmen are trained, equipped, and ready to deploy worldwide to support state and national objectives

Colonel Wernersbach entered the Air Force after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in May 1998. He attended Joint Undergraduate Navigator Training at Randolph Air Force Base earning his Navigator wings in October 2000, followed by an operational assignment at Dyess Air Force Base where he participated in numerous overseas deployments in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM. He joined the 102nd Rescue Squadron, Westhampton Beach, New York in 2006 and participated in multiple deployments supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa. He also served as the Chief, Rated Management and Analysis Branch, Pentagon, Virginia. In this role, he was critical to the establishment and success of the Total Force Aircrew Management Office, a Chief of Staff of the Air Force directed initiative. On his most recent deployment supporting Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, Colonel Wernersbach served as the 26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron Commander. Following that he commanded the 106^th Operations Support Squadron. Prior to his current position, the Colonel was the Military Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Air Force for Reserve Affairs and Airman and Guardian Readiness, Pentagon, Washington D.C.

In his civilian capacity, the colonel is a management consultant with a firm specializing in federal human capital. In this position, he worked with agencies across the federal government to improve performance management, design selection systems and assess organizational culture. His major projects include conducting training on and assessing the National Geo-Spatial Intelligence Agency’s pay-for-performance system, in-depth workload analysis projects at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, competency modeling at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, and the improvement of selection processes for entry-level intelligence officers at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

EDUCATION

ASSIGNMENTS or CAREER CHRONOLOGY

1. June 1998 – January 1999, Student, Navigator Primary Training, Pensacola Naval Air Station, Fla.
2. February 1999 – October 1999, Student, Joint Undergraduate Navigator Training, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
3. November 1999 – April 2000, Student, C-130 Navigator Qualification Training, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
4. May 2000 – April 2003, C-130 Navigator, 40th Airlift Squadron Dyess AFB, Texas (November 2001 – April 2002, C-130 Navigator, 40th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Seeb Air Base, Muscat, Oman; September 2002 – March 2003, Deputy Chief of Tactics, 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Karshi-Khanabad AB, Uzbekistan)
5. May 2003 – December 2003, C-130 Instructor Navigator, 40th Airlift Squadron Dyess AFB, Texas (August 2003 – October 2003, C-130 Instructor Navigator, 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Ganci AB, Manas, Kyrgyzstan)
6. January 2004 – October 2005, Deputy Chief, Standardization and Evaluations, 40th Airlift Squadron, Dyess AFB, Texas (July 2004 – September 2004, C-130 Evaluator Navigator, 745th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Al Udeid AB, Doha, Qatar; February 2005 – June 2005, C-130 Evaluator Navigator, 745th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Al Udeid AB, Doha, Qatar)
7. November 2005 – December 2006, Program Evaluator, Air Mobility Command, Standardization and Evaluation, Scott AFB, Ill.
8. January 2007 – June 2007, Student, HC-130 Mission Qualification Training, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
9. July 2007 – July 2014, HC-130 Navigator, 102nd Rescue Squadron, Westhampton Beach, New York (June 2009 – July 2009, HC-130 Navigator, 81st Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, Djibouti; December 2012 – February 2013, Director of Operations, 81st Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, Djibouti)
10. July 2014 – January 2017, Chief, Rated Management and Analysis Branch, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
11. January 2017 – February 2018, Assistant Operations Officer, 102nd Rescue Squadron, Westhampton Beach, N.Y.
12. February 2018 – June 2018, Commander, 26 Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, Al Asad, Iraq
13. June 2018 – August 2019, Operations Officer, 106th Operations Support Squadron, Westhampton Beach, N.Y.
14. August 2019 – January 2022, Commander, 106th Operations Support Squadron, Westhampton Beach, N.Y.
15. February 2022 – August 2022, Executive Officer to the Executive Director, Office of the Director, Air National Guard, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
16. September 2022 – April 2023, Air National Guard Advisor to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
17. May 2023 – May 2024, Military Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Reserve Affairs and Airman and Guardian Readiness, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
18. June 2024 – Present, Commander, 109^th Mission Support Group, Stratton Air National Guard Base, Scotia, N.Y.

FLIGHT INFORMATION

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Legion of Merit

Bronze Star

Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster

Air Medal with seven oak leaf clusters

Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster

Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster

Joint Service Achievement Medal

Air Force Achievement Medal

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS

Life Member, National Guard Association of the United States

Life Member, Military Association of New York

Life Member, Airlift Tanker Association

Member, Society of Industrial/Organizational Psychologists

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

Second Lieutenant, May 27, 1998

First Lieutenant, May 27, 2000

Captain, May 27, 2002

Major, Dec. 4, 2007

Lieutenant Colonel, Dec. 4, 2014

Colonel, Nov 30, 2022

(Current as of August 2024)