Col. Roderick T. Grunwald is the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Secord Air Force, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. He assists the commander in the development, oversight and direction of all operational aspects of Basic Military Training, initial skills training and advanced technical training for the Air Force enlisted force, non-rated operations and support officers. Second Air Force provides training in more than 265 Air Force specialties through 2,700 courses and graduates 150,000 Airmen, Guardians, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and international students annually. Finally, he furthers successful management of all Air Force Airmen throughout the Joint Expeditionary Tasking/Individual Augmentee training pipeline at several Army training sites across the country.
Colonel Grunwald graduated from California State University, Stanislaus in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics. He entered the Air Force in June 1994, graduating from Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. After completing missile launch officer training at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California in 1995, he was assigned to the 564th Missile Squadron, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. He served seven years on active duty as a flight commander/instructor for 20 missile crews and their facility management/security teams, and as space operations officer role at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, working satellite intelligence and strategic operational plans for Air Force Space Command.
The colonel joined the 349th Air Mobility Wing as a reservist and logistics plans officer in August 2000 and attended Air Force Logistics Training, earning top graduate honors. Colonel Grunwald augmented USAFE deployment operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom, engineering the first direct passenger flights into Iraq from outside the area of responsibility, and helped to plan/deploy attacking forces for Operation Iraqi Freedom. On October 1, 2003, with the inception of the Logistics Readiness Squadron, he became the 349th LRS Operations Officer. In August 2007, Col Grunwald was promoted to commander of the 349th LRS. During his tenure, Col Grunwald has worked as an advisor and exercise planner with NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center for over seven years. From 2010 to 2011, he deployed to Jordan for nine months under the U.S. Security Coordinator Joint Task Force, working with the Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian governments to provide security stabilization and civil protection initiatives in the West Bank. As the Jordan Training Officer, he led multi-national training and budgeting efforts for more than 2,100 Palestinian security force and civil defense personnel, to promote security and infrastructure building efforts in pursuit of a two-state solution for Israel-Palestine. Colonel Grunwald served on the J4 staff at Special Operations Command CENTCOM for 11 months in 2014, developing the standup of the Intermediate Support Base structure in Kuwait for equipment and personnel movement into Baghdad in support of anti-ISIS efforts. He was a lead planner for the $500 million coalition sustain and equip plan for Syria, and forward deployed with special operations forces to oversee logistics for the Central Asian States, the Levant and Yemen, supporting anti-Al Qaeda efforts during the Al Mahfid offensive. In the spring of 2015, Col Grunwald oversaw all phases of logistics, manpower and facility development for the KC-135 tanker beddown at Beale Air Force Base, California, before serving as the 940th Mission Support Group Commander for the following eighteen months. Col Grunwald completed a second MSG tour as the 349th Mission Support Group Commander, developing 950 group Airmen at Travis Air Force Base and leading Fourth Air Force in readiness training for three and a half years. Prior to his current position, Col Grunwald served as the Chief of long range strategy and planning for the Chief, Air Force Reserve, HAF/REXS, Pentagon, Washington DC. He led AFR’s center for strategic studies and assessment providing AFR equity/advocacy recommendations to HAF/OSD/Joint Components as it relates to national defense and policy, planning and programming efforts in support of the joint force. His team developed Reserve Strategic Planning Guidance (RSPG) and helped formulate strategic objectives and planning guidance for Chief, Air Force Reserve, to guide design, programming, and legislative efforts for the command.
EDUCATION
1991 Bachelor of Arts, Liberal Arts/Economics, California State University, Stanislaus
1994 Belcher Athletic Leadership Award, Officer Training School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala
1995 Distinguished Graduate, Undergraduate Space and Missile Training, Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA
1997 Masters of Science, Human Resource Management, Troy State University, Ala.
1998 Target Logistics College, Minneapolis, Minn.
2001 Top Graduate, Air Force Officer Logistics Plans & Programs Officer Course, Lackland Air Force Base, TX
2002 Squadron Officer’s School, by correspondence
2003 Distinguished Graduate, Logistics Readiness Officer Transportation Course, Lackland Air Force Base, TX
2005 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2006 NATO Joint Operational Logistics Planning Course, Oberammergau, Germany
2013 Air War College, by correspondence
2013 NATO Civil-Military Planning Course, Oberammergau, Germany
2015 Senior Leader Generation Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1994 - November 1994, Student, officer training school, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2. November 1994 - June 1995, Student, undergraduate space and missile training, 381st Training Squadron, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
3. July 1995 - June 1996, ICBM Deputy Crew Commander, 564th Missile Squadron, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.
4. July 1996 - December 1996, ICBM Crew Commander, 564th Missile Squadron, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.
5. January 1997 - August 1998, ICBM Flight Commander/Instructor, 564th Missile Squadron, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.
6. August 1998 - July 2000, Space Operations Officer, 14th Air Force Headquarters, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
7. August 2000 - September 2003, Assistant Chief of Wing Plans, 349th Air Mobility Wing, Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
8. October 2003 - July 2007, Operations Officer, 349th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
9. August 2007 - August 2015, Commander, 349th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
10. August 2015 – December 2016, Commander, 940th Mission Support Group, Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
11. December 2016- July 2020, Commander, 349th Mission Support Group, Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
12. July 2020 – Nov 2022, Chief, Strategy and Planning, HAF/REXS, Pentagon, Washington DC.
13. Nov 2022 – Present, Chief, Strategy and Integration, AFRC/CDX, Robins AFB, GA
14. Dec 2022 – Present, Mobilization Assistant to 2AF, Keesler AFB, MS
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. October 2010 – July 2011, Jordan Training Officer, United States Security Coordinator, Joint Task Force Israel, US Consulate, Jerusalem
2. March 2014 – February 2015, Logistics Operations Support Team Lead for Central Asian States and Arabian Peninsula, SOCCENT HQ, MacDill AFB, Fla.
3. July 2020 – Nov 2022, Chief, Strategy and Planning, HAF/REXS, Pentagon, Washington DC.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device, one silver and four bronze oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant: November 18, 1994
First Lieutenant: November 18, 1996
Captain: September 29, 2000
Major: September 29, 2004
Lieutenant Colonel: September 29, 2009
Colonel: July 20, 2015
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2001 349 AMW Company Grade Officer of the Year
2003 349 AMW Company Grade Officer of the Year
2004 Air Force Association Reserve Officer of the Year, California
2011 Thomas P. Gerrity Logistics Effectiveness Award
(Current as of December 2022)