Col. Michael L. Downs commands the 17th Training Wing, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas. A Joint Center of Excellence, Goodfellow is the home for the Department of Defense Fire Academy and multi-service intelligence technical training. The wing is responsible for training more than 14,400 firefighting and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance warriors annually for the United States Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, other government agencies, and allied nations. In addition to Goodfellow, Colonel Downs has command responsibility for three geographically-separated units in California, Arizona and Florida. He manages real property, equipment, supplies and contracts in excess of $1.5 billion and has an annual operating budget exceeding $288 million. He also provides support to Army, Navy and Marine Corps on-base units, as well as seven other partner organizations and Angelo State University's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Colonel Downs received his Bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M where he was an ROTC Distinguished Graduate and earned his commission as a Second Lieutenant in December 1992. He has held assignments at the squadron, Air and Space Operations Center, Major Command, Air Staff, Joint Staff and Office of the Secretary of Defense levels. Colonel Downs has participated in 18 joint and combined operations and exercises in Central Command, European Command, Pacific Command, and Southern Command area of responsibilities and served in an array of capacities ranging from Director of Intelligence for a Joint Special Operations Task Force in the Balkans to the chief developer of the Joint Integrated Prioritized Target List during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
EDUCATION
1992 Bachelor of Political Science degree, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
1997 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2000 Master of Organizational Management degree, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
2000 Master of Public Administration, Troy State University, Washington, D.C.
2005 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2006 Naval Command and Staff College, Naval Station Newport, Newport, R.I.
2008 Air War College, by correspondence
2011 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1993 - March 1994, Student, Fundamentals of Intelligence / Intelligence Applications
Course, Goodfellow AFB, Texas
2. March 1994 – June 1995, Chief of Targeting and Intelligence Officer, 39th Operational Support Squadron, Incirlik AB, Turkey
3. June 1995 – July 1998, Chief, Contingency Operations Intelligence and Intelligence Analyst, Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida
4. July 1998 – August 2000, Air Force Intern, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
5. August 2000 – October 2002, Targets and Readiness Flight Commander, 32nd Air Intelligence Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany
6. October 2002 – October 2003, Chief of Training and Exercises, 32nd Air Operations Group, Ramstein AB, Germany
7. October 2003 – May 2004, Current Operations Flight Commander, 13th Intelligence Squadron, Beale AFB, Calif.
8. May 2004 – June 2005, Director of Operations, 9th Intelligence Squadron, Beale AFB, Calif.
9. June 2005 – July 2006, Director of Operations, 13th Intelligence Squadron, Beale AFB, Calif.
10. July 2006 – June 2007, Student, Naval Command and Staff College, Newport, R.I.
11. June 2007 – June 2008, Speechwriter for the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
12. June 2008 – June 2010, Commander, 303rd Intelligence Squadron, Osan AB, Republic of Korea
13. June 2010 – June 2011, Student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
14. June 2011 – June 2013, Commander, 707th Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Group, Fort George G. Meade, Md.,
15. June 2013 – June 2015, Chief Reconnaissance, Space and Missile Defense Division, Joint Staff J-3, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
16. June 2015 – Present, Commander, 17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB, Texas
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Company Grade Intelligence Officer of the Year Award
Outstanding Young Man of America Award
Squadron Officer School – Distinguished Graduate
Naval Command and Staff College – Highest Distinction
Air War College – Highest Distinction
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant March 1993
First Lieutenant March 1995
Captain March 1997
Major June 2003
Lieutenant Colonel September 2007
Colonel September 2011
(Current as of July 2017)