Author: Christopher Reid

Colonel Christopher K. Reid is an active-duty Air Force officer with over 20 years of expertise as a command and control operator, military operational planner, and air battle manager. His flying and operational experience include battle management on the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System, multiple tours to the Middle East, and the defense of the homeland. He formed an early cadre of air defenders in Washington, D.C., after September 11, 2001, at the Joint Air Defense Operations Center. Col. Reid has worked extensively with coalition air forces, providing air and missile defense expertise to the Royal Jordanian Air Force and more recently as the deputy chief of the Combat Plans Division for U.S. Air Forces Central Command during the height of hostilities against the Islamic State, during which coalition airpower played a major role securing the critical cities of Mosul and Raqqah. Before joining the Center for Strategic and International Studies as a visiting fellow, he commanded a squadron that served as the first geographically separated Air Operations Center, controlling combat airpower in the Middle East from distributed locations around the globe. Col. Reid has served on multiple staffs, including as chief of integrated air and missile defense at Air Combat Command and mission division chief in the Strategic Studies Group for the Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations. He holds a bachelor’s in chemistry with a minor in leadership from Virginia Tech. He also holds a master's degree in strategic intelligence from American Military University and another in military operational art and science from Air University, where he wrote “Airborne ISR in COIN - Prescribing Priorities in Doctrine” and “Joint Efficiencies - The Future of Deployable Command and Control."