Colonel Gary S. Monroe is the 153d Airlift Wing Deputy Commander at the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming. The 153d Airlift Wing supports the State of Wyoming, the Air National Guard and the United States Air Force with peacetime and combat airlift missions throughout the world. The 153d Airlift Wing is equipped with eight C-130H aircraft and consists of more than 1,300 personnel across 20 squadrons. The 153d also has capabilities for aerial firefighting (Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System), aeromedical evacuation, command and control missions, and air traffic control enabled by dedicated guardsmen in medical, maintenance, support, and logistics roles.
Colonel Monroe was commissioned in March 1996 through the Academy of Military Science at McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard Base in Knoxville, Tennessee. In July 1997 he earned his navigator wings and returned to Wyoming for his first operational assignment as a Tactical Mission Navigator in the C-130H3 "Hercules" with the 187th Airlift Squadron, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo. He is a master navigator with more than 4,300 hours in the C-130E, H1, H2, H2.5, and H3 models, including 561 combat and combat support hours flown in support of numerous operations. Prior to his current assignment, Colonel Monroe was the JFHQ-WY Joint Staff Air Liaison Officer, 153d Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo.
He has also served as the Commander 153rd Maintenance Group, ANG Plans, Programs, and Policy Officer within the National Guard Integration Office at NORAD and USNORTHCOM, as well as numerous other positions at the WYANG; 153d AW Chief of Safety, Commander 153d AMXS, a member of the WY-Joint Staff as the Chief of Plans (J5), as the Director of Operations for the 187 AS, Chief of Weapons and Tactics, and Chief of Current Operations. He has experience in a variety of operational assignments and contingency operations. He has flown combat sorties in support of Operation Joint Forge/Joint Enterprise and Shining Hope, Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and Operation Inherent Resolve. He is a 2014 graduate of the United States Army War College.
EDUCATION
1992 Associates of Arts degree, Aims Community College, Greeley, Colo.
1994 Bachelor of Arts degree in History, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo.
2001 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2009 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2014 Masters of Strategic Studies, United Sates Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Penn.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 1996 – October 1996, Student, Undergraduate Navigator Training, Pensacola NAS, Fla.
2. October 1996 – July 1997, Student, Undergraduate Navigator Training, Randolph AFB, Texas.
3. September 1997 – January 1998, Student, C-130 Initial Qualification, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
4. January 1998 – September 2001, C-130 Mission Navigator 187th Airlift Squadron, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo.
5. September 2001 – September 2002, Chief of Current Operations, 153d Operations Support Flight, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo. (January 2002 – August 2002, C-130 Mission Navigator, 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, 320th Air Expeditionary Wing, Masirah Island AB, Oman)
6. September 2002 – April 2005, C-130 Tactics Officer, 153d Operations Support Flight, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo. (April 2004 - July 2004, Tactics Officer, 386th Expeditionary Operational Support Squadron, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, Ali Al Salem AB, Kuwait)
7. April 2005 – October 2008, Chief of Tactics, 153d Operations Support Flight, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo. (November 2005 – February 2006, Chief of Tactics, 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram AB, Afghanistan)
8. October 2008 – August 2010, Assistant Director of Operations, 187th Airlift Squadron, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo. (February 2009 – April 2009, Director of Operations, 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram AB, Afghanistan)
9. August 2010 – July 2011, Director of Operations, 187th Airlift Squadron, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo.
10. July 2011 – April 2012, Chief of Joint Plans (J5), Joint Staff, Joint Force Headquarters, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo.
11. April 2012 – July 2013, Commander, 153d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo.
12. July 2013 – June 2014, Student, United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Penn.
13. June 2014 – December 2016, Chief of Safety 153d Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo. (October 2014 – January 2015, C-130 Mission Navigator, 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Al Udied AB, Qatar)
14. December 2016 – December 2018, ANG Plans, Programs, and Policy Officer, NORAD and USNORTHCOM, Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colo.
15. December 2018 – July 2020, Air Liaison Officer, JFHQ-WY, Wyoming National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo.
16. July 2020 – June 2024, Commander, 153d Maintenance Group, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo.
16. June 2024 – Present, Deputy Commander, 153d Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Master Navigator
Flight Hours: More than 4,300, including 561 combat and combat support hours
Aircraft flown: C-130E, H1, H2, H2.5, and H3
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Army Commendation Medal
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant March 21, 1996
First Lieutenant March 21, 1998
Captain April 1, 2000
Major April 3, 2004
Lieutenant Colonel April 3, 2011
Colonel January 1, 2019
(Current as of October 2024)