Colonel Travis Pond is the deputy commander of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The 88th Air Base Wing is the largest air base wing in the Air Force with more than 5,000 officers and enlisted Airmen, Air Force civilians and contractor employees. The wing provides support and services to the largest, most diverse, and most organizationally complex base in the Air Force including a major acquisition center, research and development laboratories, a major command headquarters, an airlift wing, and the world’s largest military air museum. The base is home to more than 30,000 military, government civilian, and contractor employees and associate units.
Pond entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officer Training Program (ROTC) after graduating from Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky. in 1999. He has served as a Contracting Officer at an operational squadron, a major weapons center, and at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). His command tours include, Contracting Squadron Command at Whiteman AFB, Mo., and Contract Management Office Commander at Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Seattle, Wash. He has done staff tours at the Pentagon, Air Force Contracting (SAF/AQC), as a Program Acquisition Evaluator and senior Contracting representative at the DoD Office of Inspector General, and as the Deputy Director of Contracting for Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). He has executed two major Source Selections, one for the $525M next generation P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS) at Eglin AFB, and a Director of National Intelligence #1 priority classified Communications Satellite Project at the NRO, valued over $1B.
Pond has deployed as a Contracting Office Chief, Deputy Chief of Contracting, and as an Administrative Contracting Officer for DCMA. His tours include Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, Kandahar, Afghanistan and Baghdad, Iraq. Col Pond’s contracting assignments include Scott Air Force Base, Ill. where he served as Construction Flight Team Lead, the Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., where he served as Contracts Flight Chief, the National Reconnaissance Office, Va., where he served as the Chief of Contracts for the Special Programs Group, the 509th Contracting Squadron, Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., where he was the Contracting Squadron Commander, DCMA Seattle, his second command tour, Air Force Contracting Staff, SAF/AQC, the DoD IG at the Pentagon, the Deputy Director of Contracting at AFMC, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and as the 88th Air Base Wing Deputy Commander, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
EDUCATION
1999 Bachelor's degree, Economics & Finance, Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky., Summa Cum Laude
1999 Aerospace Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2002 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2003 Master's Degree in Business, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Ill., Magna Cum Laude
2012 Master’s Degree, Military Art & Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2016 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2018 Joint Forces Staff College, Joint & Combined Warfighting School, JPME II, Norfolk, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1999 – August 2002, Contracting Officer, Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineering Requirements Team Chief, and Construction Flight Team Lead, 375th Contracting Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
2. August 2002 – June 2006, Lead Contract Manager and Contracts Flight Chief, Small Diameter Bomb Program Office, Air Armament Center, Eglin AFB, Fla.
3. June 2006 – June 2010, Procuring Contracting Officer and Chief of Contracts, Special Programs Group, Communications Directorate, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Va.
4. June 2010 – July 2011, Commander, 509th Contracting Squadron, Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.
5. August 2011 – June 2012, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
6. July 2012 – July 2015, Commander, Defense Contract Management Agency, Seattle, Wash.
7. July 2015 – July 2017, Sourcing & Transformation Branch Chief, SAF/AQC, Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
8. July 2017 – July 2019, Program Acquisition Evaluator, DoD Inspector General, Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
9. July 2019 – June 2023, Deputy Director, Contracting Directorate, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
10. June 2023 – January 2024, Deputy Commander, 88th Air Base Wing, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
11. January 2024 – April 2024, Commander, 88th Air Base Wing, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
12. April 2024 – present, Deputy Commander, 88th Air Base Wing, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2001 Logistics Group Company Grade Officer of the Year
2001 Air Mobility Command Contracting Officer of the Year
2004 Air Armament Center Contracting Officer of the Year
2007 National Reconnaissance Office Directors Circle Award Winner
2007 Special Programs Group Company Grade Officer of the Year
2008 Special Programs Group Company Grade Officer of the Year
2017 Executive Office of the President, Chief Acquisition Officer Council, Acquisition Excellence Team of the Year
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 30, 1999
First Lieutenant June 30, 2001
Captain June 30, 2003
Major May 1, 2009
Lieutenant Colonel Oct 1, 2014
Colonel Oct 1, 2020
(Current as of APRIL 2024)