Col. Ronald W. Schier, Jr is the vice commander of the 916th Air Refueling Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.
Col. Schier entered military service as a member of the South Carolina Army National Guard in 1994. After four years of enlisted service, he was commissioned in the South Carolina Army National Guard through the Palmetto Military Academy in Eastover, S.C.. He served as a Field Artillery Officer in the Florida Army National Guard where he was a platoon leader and operations officer prior to joining the Air Force Reserve. He attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. Col Schier’s first flying assignment was to the 328th Airlift Squadron, Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, New York in the C-130H.
Col. Schier deployed multiple times in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Coronet Oak, Joint Forge, Joint Endeavor, New Dawn, and Freedom’s Sentinel. In 2008, Colonel Schier became an Air Reserve Technician at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey holding various positions including Chief of Wing Training, Chief of Squadron Training, Chief of Scheduling, and Tactics Officer. In 2013 Col Schier was assigned as the Director of Operations in the 701st Airlift Squadron, Charleston AFB, S.C.. Col Schier then commanded the 315th Operational Support Squadron and the 701st Airlift Squadron before being assigned as a joint operations planner for the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command. Col Schier has logged almost 700 combat flying hours.
Colonel Schier is a command pilot with over 4,000 Flying hours in military aircraft including the T-37, TC-12, C-130, and C-17. Prior to his current assignment Col. Schier was Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Deputy Director of Staff, Headquarters, Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB, Illinois.
EDUCATION
1998 Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, The Citadel, Charleston, S.C.
1998 Palmetto Military Academy, Eastover, S.C.
1999 Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, Fort Sill, Okla.
2005 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2008 Masters of Science, Leadership and Information Technology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa.
2010 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence
2020 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS or CAREER CHRONOLOGY
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July 1998 - June 2001 Platoon Leader, C Battery 3/116th FA, Plant City, Fla.
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July 2001 - July 2002 Operations Officer, C Battery 3/116th FA, Plant City, Fla.
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August 2002-November 2003 Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus Air Force Base, MS & NAS Corpus Christi, Texas
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November 2003 - September 2008 Airlift Pilot/Tactics Officer, 328th Airlift Squadron, Niagara Falls ARS, N.Y.
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October 2008 - August 2010 Mobility Pilot/Tactics Officer, 732nd Airlift Squadron, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
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August 2010 - March 2011 Chief of Scheduling, 732nd Airlift Squadron, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
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April 2011 - July 2013 Chief of Training, 732nd Airlift Squadron, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
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August 2013 – March 2014 Operations Officer, 701st Airlift Squadron, Joint Base Charleston, S.C.
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May 2016 - Jan 2019, Commander, 315th Operations Support Squadron, Joint Base Charleston, S.C.
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Feb 2019 - September 2020, Commander, 701st Airlift Squadron, Joint Base Charleston, S.C.
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November 2020 - May 2022, Operations Staff Planner, Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
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June 2022 – April 2023, IMA to the Deputy Director of Staff, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
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May 2023 – Present, Vice Commander, 916th Air Refueling Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: 4075
Aircraft Flown: T-37, TC-12, C-130H, C-17
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal, with two oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal, with one oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant July 25, 1998
First Lieutenant July 25, 2000
Captain October 01, 2002
Major April 20, 2009
Lieutenant Colonel August 21, 2014
Colonel May 25, 2022
(Current as of JUNE 2023)