Col. John W. Blocher is the Commander at 93d Air Ground Operations Wing, Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The Wing consists of four groups with over 2,200 Airmen at 20 locations throughout the Continental U.S. Subordinate units are the 3d Air Support Operations Group at Fort Hood, Texas; the 18th Air Support Operations Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; the 5th Combat Weather Group at Fort Bragg, and the 820th Base Defense Group at Moody AFB. The 3d and 18th ASOGs provide Tactical Air Control Party command and control and strike capabilities for the joint force. The 820th BDG provides rapidly deployable, highly specialized forces for active base defense. The 5th CWG provides meteorological information from hostile and data-denied areas to predict future conditions, wherever and whenever needed.
Col. Blocher received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 1999. He is a senior pilot with over 1,500 flying hours in the A/OA-10 “Warthog” and the AT-38. He has flown over 150 combat hours in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and deployed as an Air Liaison Officer and Joint Terminal Attack Controller in support of Operation
IRAQI FREEDOM, during which his accomplishments earned him both the Bronze Star for heroism and Air Force Commendation Medal with Valor. Prior to his current position, the colonel was the Commander, 1st Air Support Operations Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., where he oversaw four squadrons providing Tactical Air Control Party and Staff Weather Officer capabilities across USINDOPACOM.
He previously served as the Military Assistant to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Russia/Ukraine Team, National Defense Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and as an Olmsted Scholar at the Corvinus University of Budapest. Col. Blocher is married to the former Ms. Jamie Hatch and is the father of three boys, Cole, Cooper, and Jack, who is currently a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy.
EDUCATION
1999 Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering, United States Air Force Academy, Colo.
2003 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2007 Master of Arts in Educational Leadership, Touro University International
2009 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2009 Defense Language Institute (Hungarian)
2011 Master of Arts in International Relations, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary
2014 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2019 Joint and Combined Warfighting School, JPME Phase II, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2019 National Defense Fellow, Atlantic Council, Washington, D.C.
2025 Leading Strategically, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Co.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1999 – February 2000, Assistant Scheduler, 347th Operations Support Squadron, Moody AFB, Ga.
2. February 2000 – November 2000, student, VT-3, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Whiting Field Naval Air Station, Fla.
3. November 2000 – June 2001, student, 25th Flying Training Squadron, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Vance AFB, Okla.
4. June 2001 – September 2001, student, 49th Flying Training Squadron, Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals, Moody AFB, Ga.
5. September 2001 – May 2002, student, 358th Fighter Training Squadron, Initial A-10 Qualification, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
6. May 2002 – June 2005, A/OA-10 Pilot, Flight Lead, Forward Air Controller, 75th Fighter Squadron, Pope AFB, N.C. (Battalion Air Liaison Officer, Task Force 2-69 Armor, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Baghdad, Iraq; A/OA-10 Pilot, Flight Lead, Forward Air Controller, 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan)
7. July 2005 – May 2008, Instructor Pilot, T-38C Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals Course, Chief of Scheduling, Flight Commander, Flight Examiner, 88th Fighter Training Squadron, Sheppard AFB, Texas
8. May 2008 – August 2011, Olmsted Scholar, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary
9. August 2011 – April 2014, Instructor Pilot, T-38C Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals Course, Wing Executive Officer, 80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB, Texas
10. April 2014 – June 2015, Director of Operations, 9th Air Support Operations Squadron, Fort Hood Army Installation, Texas
11. July 2015 – May 2017, Commander, 13th Air Support Operations Squadron, Fort Carson Army Installation, Colo.
12. June 2017 – July 2019, Military Assistant to the Commander, Allied Joint Force Command, Brunssum, Netherlands
13. July 2019 – May 2020, National Defense Fellow, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council, Washington, D.C.
14. June 2020 – July 2022, Military Assistant to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Chief of Staff for Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
15. August 2022 – June 2024, Commander, 1st Air Support Operations Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
16. July 2024 – Present, Commander, 93d Air Ground Operations Wing, Moody AFB, Ga.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2017 – July 2019, Military Assistant to the Commander, Allied JFC Brunssum, Netherlands, as a lieutenant colonel
2. June 2020 – July 2022, Military Assistant to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Senior Pilot
Flight hours: More than 1,500, including 150 combat hours
Aircraft flown: A/OA-10, AT-38B, and T-38C
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with “V” device and two oak leaf clusters
Army Commendation Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 2, 1999
First Lieutenant June 2, 2001
Captain June 2, 2003
Major Dec. 1, 2008
Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 2014
Colonel June 1, 2020
(Current as of September 2025)