Brigadier General PATRICE A. MELANCON

Brig. Gen. Patrice A. Melançon is the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The organization provides installation and mission support capabilities to 77 Air Force installations, nine major commands and two direct reporting units with an annual budget of approximately $10 billion. Brig. Gen. Melançon serves as the Executive Director of the Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida Reconstruction Program Management Office. Tyndall AFB had more than 60% of its facilities significantly damaged as a result of Hurricane Michael in October 2018. At the direction of the Secretary of the Air Force, Brig. Gen. Melançon leads a team to program and prepare to execute nearly $3 billion in funding to construct a digitally-connected, 21st-century Air Force base capable of supporting up to three squadrons of F-35s and one squadron of MQ-9s.

Brig. Gen. Melançon was commissioned through the ROTC program at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette in 1988, graduating with honors and a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. She spent nine years on active duty prior to entering the Air Force Reserve in 1997. She has been a commander twice, has experience at base level, major command, combatant command, field operating agency and Air Staff levels, and has been activated for three extended active duty tours since Sept. 11, 2001. She has served stateside, as well as in Europe and Southwest Asia, and has experience in both peacetime and wartime contingency operations.

In her civilian career, Brig. Gen. Melançon served as a Senior Project Manager and Engineer with CDM Smith for 15 years, overseeing projects for various federal clients and programs including the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program. She has experience as a project engineer and then project and program manager for water, wastewater and stormwater projects for municipal clients, as well as federal entities. Most recently, prior to her current extended active duty, she served as the Watershed Engineering Department Manager for the San Antonio River Authority where she led a team of 27 to protect and enhance the creeks and rivers of the San Antonio River Basin.

EDUCATION
1988 Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette
1994 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1999 Master of Science, Engineering, Emphasis in Water Resources, University of Texas, Austin
2000 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2008 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence

ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1988–July 1990, Chief, Bioenvironmental Engineering Services, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.
2. July 1990–July 1994, Deputy Chief, Bioenvironmental Engineering Services, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom
3. July 1994–August 1997, Remediation Team Chief, Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence, Brooks AFB, Texas
4. August 1997–Entered the Air Force Reserve
5. August 1997–November 2001, 433rd Civil Engineer Squadron, Kelly AFB, Texas
6. November 2001–March 2004, 810th Civil Engineer Flight, Naval Air Station, Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas (November 2001 – October 2002, Environmental Program Manager, Directorate of Installations, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, Shaw AFB, S.C.)
6. April 2004–September 2006, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to Chief of Environmental, Air Education and Training Command Installations and Mission Support, Randolph AFB, Texas
7. September 2006–August 2010, IMA to Chief of Programs, AETC/A7C, Randolph AFB, Texas (February 2008–June 2008, Commander, 14th CES, Columbus AFB, Miss.)
8. August 2010–October 2012, Commander, 810th CEF, NAS Fort Worth JRB, Texas (April 2012 – July 2012, Director of Installations - Forward, AFCENT, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar)
9. October 2012–October 2013, IMA to the Chief, Environment and Energy, Air Force Installations and Mission Support, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
10. October 2013–August 2015, Director, Fourteenth Air Force/Joint Functional Space Component Command/614th Air and Space Operations Center Consolidation Program, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
11. July 2015–April 2017, Mobilization Assistant to the Air Force Director of Civil Engineers, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection, Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
12. April 2017–November 2018, Principal Deputy Director of Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection, Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command, Robins AFB, Ga.
13. November 2018–present, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2003 General Edwin W. Rawlings Award Recipient – Air Force Environmental Excellence, Management Category
2009 Outstanding Civil Engineer Manager of the Year, ARC Officer Manager Category (AETC)
2010 National Society of Professional Engineers, Federal Engineer of the Year, Military (AETC)
2012 National Society of Professional Engineers, Federal Engineer of the Year, Military (AFRC)
2014 Designated as a Fellow in the Society of American Military Engineers

REGISTRATIONS
Professional Engineer, Texas
Certified Floodplain Manager, Texas
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Accredited Professional

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Society of American Military Engineers

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTIONS
Second Lieutenant July 13, 1988
First Lieutenant July 13, 1990
Captain July 13, 1992
Major Oct. 1, 2000
Lieutenant Colonel Aug. 18, 2005
Colonel Sept. 1, 2010
Brigadier General Feb. 17, 2017

(Current as of August 2020)