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Director of Staff, HQ Hawai’i Air National Guard

Colonel Kelly P. Church

Col. Kelly P. Church serves as the Director of Staff at Headquarters, Hawaii Air National Guard, Fort Ruger, Hawaii. He is responsible for 2,500 Hawaii Air National Guardsmen performing F-22, KC-135, C-17, tactical and operational level command and control, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, combat communications, and air traffic control operations throughout the Indo-Pacific theater and globally, while ensuring those forces are ready to protect life, limb and property as tasked by the Governor of the Sate of Hawaii.

Church is a 2003 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He served 12 years on active duty as a KC-135 Evaluator and Instructor Pilot at Grand Folks Air Force Base, North Dakota as well as Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. He joined the Hawaii Air National Guard in 2015 where he served in both the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron and the 201st Air Mobility Operations Squadron. He has deployed multiple times to both the Pacific and Central Command regions in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Inherent Resolve, Freedom Sentinel as well as the USINDOPACOM Theater Security Package Tanker Task Force.

EDUCATION

  • 2003 Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering, United States Air Force Academy
  • 2004 Aerospace Basic Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
  • 2009 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
  • 2013 Air Command & Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
  • 2019 Master of Arts in Military Studies, American Military University
  • 2022 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence

ASSIGNMENTS

  1. May 2004 – May 2005, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus AFB, MS
  2. Jun 2005 – December 2007, KC-135 Pilot, 912th Air Refueling Squadron, Grand Forks AFB, ND
  3. December 2007 – December 2008, KC-135 Aircraft Commander, 912th Air Refueling Squadron, Grand Forks AFB, ND
  4. December 2008 – April 2010, KC-135 Instructor Pilot/Chief of Upgrade, 319th Operations Support Squadron, Grand Forks AFB, ND
  5. April 2010 – November 2010, Training Flight Commander, 905th Air Refueling Squadron, Grand Forks AFB, ND
  6. November 2010 – September 2011, Current Operations Flight Commander, 96th Air Refueling Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
  7. September 2011 – June 2012, KC-135 Evaluator Pilot/Current Operations Flight Commander, 96th Air Refueling Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
  8. June 2012 – June 2013, Chief KC-135 Evaluator, 15th Operations Group, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
  9. July 2013 – July 2015, Assistant Director of Operations, 96th Air Refueling Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
  10. July 2015 – November 2016, Evaluator Pilot, 203rd Air Refueling Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
  11. December 2016 – April 2019, Air Refueling Control Team, 201st Air Mobility Operations Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
  12. April 2019 – April 2020, Director of Operations, 203rd Air Refueling Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
  13. April 2020 – January 2023, Commander, 203rd Air Refueling Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
  14. January 2023 – August 2024, Deputy Commander, 154th Operations Group, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
  15. August 2024 – January 2026, Commander, 154th Operations Group, JBPHH, Hawaii
  16. January 2026 – present, Director of Staff, Headquarters, Hawaii Air National Guard, Fort Ruger, Hawaii

FLIGHT INFORMATION

  • Rating: command pilot
  • Flight Hours: 5500 (1510 combat)
  • Aircraft Flown: T-37, T-1, KC-135R/T

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
  • Air and Space Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
  • Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
  • Air and Space Achievement Medal
  • Air Medal with 7 oak leaf clusters

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

  • Second Lieutenant May 28, 2003
  • First Lieutenant May 28, 2005
  • Captain May 28, 2007
  • Major October 1, 2013
  • Lieutenant Colonel September 17, 2019
  • Colonel August 13, 2024