Colonel Chad A. Gemeinhardt is the Commander, 81st Mission Support Group, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. He commands the base combat support, logistics, and service activities for 114,000 military, civilians, dependents, and retirees by leading more than 1,650 military, civilian, and contractor personnel. He budgets for and expends $126 million in annual funds while maintaining and providing security for real property and equipment valued at $4.7 billion. In addition, he manages a fleet of 422 vehicles valued at $26 million and 5,000 pieces of technical training equipment. He also oversees contract award administration totaling $250 million that includes a team of 900 contract employees and ensures the vigilance of 48,000 miles of communications cabling and information technology equipment valued at $50 million. Colonel Gemeinhardt serves as the base director of the crisis/emergency operations center and represents Keesler in working with Mississippi and Gulf Coast leaders on issues affecting the base and surrounding communities.
Colonel Gemeinhardt entered the Air Force in 2000 after obtaining his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he also earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. He served in various civil engineer positions at the installation, MAJCOM and Air Staff levels. He has commanded at the squadron level two times and deployed five times to locations that include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Iraq. Prior to his current assignment, Colonel Gemeinhardt was the Command Engineer, Headquarters 7th Air Force, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea.
EDUCATION
2000 Bachelor of Science Degree in civil engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
2005 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base (AFB), Ala.
2008 Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering, Norwich University
2010 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2013 Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
2016 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2000-May 2002, Deputy Chief of Maintenance Engineering, 92d Civil Engineer Squadron, Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB), Wash.
2. May 2002-September 2002, Project Officer, 363rd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, 363d Air Expeditionary Wing, Prince Sultan Air Base (AB), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
3. September 2002-August 2003, Chief, Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineer Requirements, 92d Civil Engineer Squadron, Fairchild AFB, Wash.
4. August -September 2004, Programmer, 4th Civil Engineer Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
5. September 2004-January 2005, Airfield Pavement Engineer, 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia
6. January 2005-June 2005, Readiness Flight Commander, 4th Civil Engineer Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
7. June 2005-July 2007, Combat Support Flight Commander & ARH Officer in Charge, 554th RED HORSE Squadron, Osan AB, Republic of Korea
8. July 2007-June 2008, Civil Engineer Operations Program Manager, Installations and Mission Support Directorate, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
9. June 2008-April 2009, Executive Officer, Director's Action Group, Installations and Mission Support (A7) Directorate, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
10. April 2009-November 2009, Deputy Commander, Facilities Engineering Team 14, 194th Engineer Brigade, 732d Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Camp Liberty, Iraq
11. November 2009-June 2010, Chief, ACS Plans and Policy Section, Installations and Mission Support (A7) Directorate, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
12. June 2010-August 2011, Strategic Communications Program Manager, Office of the Civil Engineer, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington, D.C.
13. August 2011-February 2012, Deputy SOCCENT Engineer, Logistics (J4) Directorate, Headquarters Special Operations Command Central, Southwest Asia
14. February 2012-June 2012, MILCON Program Element Manager, Office of the Civil Engineer, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington, D.C.
15. June 2012-July 2013, Student, Army Command & General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
16. July 2013-August 2015, Operations Flight Commander, 11th Civil Engineer Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Md.
17. August 2015-June 2017, Commander, 21st Civil Engineer Squadron, 21st Space Wing, Peterson AFB, Colo.
18. June 2017-June 2018, Commander, 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid AB, Qatar
19. June 2018-June 2021, Military Deputy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment and Energy Resilience, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.
20. June 2021-July 2022, Command Engineer, Headquarters 7th Air Force, Osan AB, Republic of Korea
21. July 2022-Present, Commander, 81st Mission Support Group, Keesler AFB, Miss.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with silver leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal
Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 31, 2000
First Lieutenant May 31, 2002
Captain May 31, 2004
Major April 1, 2010
Lieutenant Colonel August 1, 2015
Colonel December 1, 2021
(Current as of July 2022)