Colonel Richard J. Konopczynski III, is the Commander of the 94th Operations Group, 94th Airlift Wing, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. He commands the Operations Group comprised of the 700th Airlift Squadron, the 94th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, and the 94th Operational Support Squadron. The Group has eight C-130H3 cargo aircraft that support airlift, airdrop, aeromedical, and humanitarian missions around the world.
Col. Green was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC in 1997. He has served in a variety of flying positions at the squadron, group, and wing level during his career in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve. He has hundreds of hours of combat and combat support flying time in operations Southern Watch, Joint Forge, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Freedom Sentinel, and Inherent Resolve. He served as the Deputy Commander of the 386th Expeditionary Operations Group 2017-2018. His flying career includes operations throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Southwest Asia. After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Col. Green deployed in the first Air Mobility Command C-130 unit into Camp Doha, Qatar and farther into Karshi Khanabad, Uzbekistan where his unit received the Meritorious Unit Award and the Outstanding Unit Award with Valor for their outstanding performance in Afghanistan.
Prior to his current assignment, Col. Green was the Deputy Operations Group Commander, Chief of Standards and Evaluations, Chief of Tactics, and Life Support Officer.
EDUCATION
1995 Bachelors of Science degree in Education, Valdosta State University, Ga.
1997 Master’s degree in Public Administration, Valdosta State University, Ga.
2004 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2010 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2020 Air War College, by correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1997 - February 1998, Administrative Asst, Valdosta State AFROTC, Valdosta, Ga.
2. February 1998 - August 1998, Student, undergraduate navigator training, Pensacola NAS, Fl.
3. August 1998 - May 1999, Student, undergraduate navigator training, Randolph AFB, San Antonio, Tx. 4. May 1999 - October 1999, Student, C-130 training, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
5. October 1999 - June 2004, C-130E/H Instructor and Evaluator Navigator, 39th Airlift Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Tx.
6. June 2004 – February 2006, C-130E FTU Instructor and Evaluator Navigator, 53d Airlift Squadron, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
7. February 2006 - July 2009, C-130H FTU Instructor and Evaluator Navigator, 700th Airlift Squadron, Dobbins Air Reserve Base Ga.
8. July 2009 - September 2015, C-130H Tactics officer, 94th Operational Support Squadron, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga.
9. September 2015 - October 2019, C-130H Chief of Standards and Evaluations, 94th Operations Group, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga.
10. October 2019 - July 2020, Deputy Commander, 94th Operations Group, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga.
11. July 2020 - Present, Commander, 94th Operations Group, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Evaluator Navigator Flight hours: More than 3,800 military hours Aircraft flown: C-130E, C-130H
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with "V" device with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal with one oak leaf cluster
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star
Southwest Asia Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with bronze star
Iraq Campaign Medal with bronze star
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal with bronze star
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Armed Forces Service Medal
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border and one oak leaf cluster
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon (Pistol)
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 28, 1997
First Lieutenant May 28, 1999
Captain May 28, 2001
Major April 5, 2007
Lieutenant Colonel Apr 5, 2014
Colonel April 9, 2021
(Current as of Jun 2021)