Colonel Eldon A. Woodie is commander of the 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, N.D. He is responsible for providing combat-ready B-52H aircraft, crews and associated combat support for deterrence, crisis response, global power projection, major theater war and maritime operations. He also serves as the installation commander for the base.
Colonel Woodie entered the Air Force in 1981 receiving a commission through Officer Training School. He started his career as a T-37 pilot instructor, evaluator and flight commander for undergraduate navigator training at Mather Air Force Base, Calif. He was initial cadre flying the B-1 at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. As a B-1 pilot, he has instructor and evaluator experience, culminating as a squadron commander at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. He has served as a joint staff officer for the Air, Land and Sea Application Center at Langley Air Force Base, Va. He also was the director of Air Force Executive Review Secretariat. Most recently he was the 2nd Bomb Wing vice commander at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. As part of Operation Enduring Freedom, he deployed to Andersen Air Base, Guam, and commanded B-52 operations as the 36th Expeditionary Operations Group commander.
He is a command pilot with more than 4,700 hours.
EDUCATION
1981 Bachelor of Science, criminal justice, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
1985 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1986 Master of Business Administration, National University, Sacramento, Calif.
1995 Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
2003 Air War College, in residence, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Sept. 1981 – September 1982, student, undergraduate pilot training, Reese Air Force Base, Texas
2. September 1982 – May 1986, T-37 instructor pilot, 455th Flying Training Squadron, Mather Air Force Base, Calif.
3. May 1986 – September 1986, student, B-1 initial qualification training, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas
4. September 1986 – November 1991, aircraft commander, evaluator, chief of training, 37th and 77th bomb squadrons, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.
5. November 1991 – May 1994, instructor pilot, chief pilot central flight instructor course, B-1, 338th and 337th bomb squadrons, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas
6. May 1994 – June 1995, student, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
7. June 1995 – April 1998, joint staff officer, Air, Land and Sea Application Center, Langley Air Force Base, Va.
8. April 1998 – June 2000, instructor, director of operations, 28th Bomb Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas
9. June 2000 – June 2002, commander, 9th Bomb Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas
10. June 2002 – June 2003, student, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
11. June 2003 – March 2004, director, Office of the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, Executive Review Secretariat, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
12. March 2004 – June 2005, vice commander, 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
13. June 2005 – present, commander, 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, N.D.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: More than 4,700
Aircraft Flown: B-52H, B-1B, T-37
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second lieutenant September 1981
First lieutenant September 1983
Captain September 1985
Major March 1993
Lieutenant colonel April 1998
Colonel March 2004