Last updated: 25 March 2004
Posted on: 11 Jan 1997

COLONEL CHARLES P. WILSON II

Colonel Chuck Wilson is the Director of the Office of International Security Operations, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and the Senior U.S. Military Representative to the Department of State, Washington D.C. In this position, Colonel Wilson is the Senior Military Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of State, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and responsible to the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. His organization is the principal link between the Departments of State and Defense regarding operational military matters. Colonel Wilson’s office champions the diplomatic actions to acquire political approval, from foreign governments, to get access, basing, overflight, and operating rights for US and Coalition forces overseas. He is also the Special Negotiator regarding US forces on British Overseas Territories. Additionally, his office is responsible for managing the consequences of foreign nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological events. The colonel was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and graduated from Indiana University in 1977. He earned his pilot wings at Reese AFB, Texas in 1982 and is a Command Pilot with over 2,800 hours in the T-37, T-38, KC-135A/Q, TR-1 and U-2 aircraft. Colonel Wilson has commanded high flying U-2 Squadrons in both Saudi Arabia and South Korea and has led or served on many operational deployments in Europe, the Pacific, and Southwest Asia. In his last assignment, he was the Commander of the Air Force Command & Control Training and Innovation Group (AFC2TIG), which is now the 505th Command and Control Wing, headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida. Additionally, Colonel Wilson previously served in key positions within the Office of the Secretary of Defense and in the Pentagon’s Joint Staff Operations Directorate (J-3), where he handled reconnaissance issues for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Blackbird Related Career Highlights:
-- July 1982- July 1986, KC135Q Copilot, KC135Q Aircraft Commander, Beale Air Force Base, California.
-- July 1986-June 1989, U2/TRl Flight Commander, Instructor Pilot, Aircraft Commander, Beale Air Force Base, California.
-- September 1993-June 1995, Director U2 Operations, 99th Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale Air Force Base, Calif. Deployed to Saudi Arabia as Commander of the 4402 Reconnaissance Squadron (Provisional), October 1993-February 1994.
-- June 1995-July 1996, Commander, 5th Reconnaissance Squadron, Osan Air Base, South Korea.
-- July 1997-July 1998, Director, Manned Reconnaissance Division, Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense, The Pentagon, Washington D.C.
-- Aug 1998-May 1999, Deputy Director for Airborne Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Programs, ISR Directorate, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (C3I), The Pentagon, Washington D.C.

FLIGHT INFORMATION: Rating: Command Pilot Flight hours: Over 2,800 Aircraft flown: T37, T38, KC135A, KC135Q, TRl, U2

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