Brig. Gen. Tara E. Nolan is the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern), Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. As the Air Force component to U.S. Southern Command, Air Forces Southern conducts security cooperation and provides air, space and cyberspace capabilities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Air Forces Southern supports U.S. Southern Command to deter aggression, defeat threats, rapidly respond to crises and work with our allies and partner nations to build regional capacity to ensure a secure, free and prosperous Western Hemisphere.
Prior to her current assignment, Brig. Gen. Nolan was the Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, Ramstein Air Base, Germany where she focused on interoperability and relationships with allies and partners.
Brig. Gen. Nolan earned her commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1994. As a logistics officer and cross flow aviator, she has served in a variety of command and staff roles to include exercise planner for Terminal Fury in U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Brig. Gen. Nolan champions enterprise connectivity and logistics database efforts to support a Logistics Common Operating Picture to provide Decision Advantage. Brig. Gen. Nolan is a senior pilot with more than 1,650 hours in T-37, T-1, C-130E, C-130H, and C-130H3 aircraft. She has flown combat missions in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
EDUCATION
1994 Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1996 Contingency Wartime Planner’s Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1997 Master of Business Administration, University of West Florida, Pensacola
1998 Master of Science, Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
2014 Reserve Component National Security Course, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
2016 Joint Maritime Operations, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
2019 Senior Leader Mission Generation Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2019 Joint and Combined Warfighting School-Hybrid, Norfolk, Va.
2019 Aspen Executive Leadership Seminar, the Aspen Institute, Aspen, Colo.
2021 Leading Strategically, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2022 North Atlantic Treaty Organization Senior Officer Policy Course, Oberammergau, Germany
2022 Senior Leader Security Seminar, Office of Special Investigations Academy, Va.
2023 Global/Regional Course - Europe and South Asia, Alan Freed, Washington, D.C.
2023 Global/Regional Course - Africa, Alan Freed, Washington, D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1990–June 1994, Cadet, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2. June 1994–April 1996, Deputy Chief Logistics Support Flight, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
3. May 1996–December 1997, Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
4. January 1998–July 1998, Deputy Commander, Logistics Plans Flight, Yokota Air Base, Japan
5. August 1998–November 1999, Student, Vance Air Force Base, Okla.
6. December 1999–November 2003, C-130H Aircraft Commander and Deputy Chief Plans and Mobility Officer, 39th Airlift Squadron, Dyess AFB, Texas
7. February 2002–March 2002, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
8. December 2003–August 2004, C-130E Aircraft Commander and Chief Executive Officer, 61st Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
9. September 2004–July 2006, Flight Commander and C-130H3/E Aircraft Commander, 463 Airlift Group Current Operations, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
10. July 2006–November 2006, Assistant Director of Operations and C-130H3/E Aircraft Commander, 463 Airlift Group Current Operations, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
11. November 2006–2009, Director of Human Resources and Instructor of Biology, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
12. August 2009–September 2011, Exercise Planner, USPACOM J711, Camp Smith, Hawaii
13. September 2011–September 2013, Operations Officer, USPACOM J3, Camp Smith, Hawaii
14. September 2013–January 2016, Chief of Operations, DLA Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va.
15. January 2016–October 2017, A4 IT Integration, DCS/Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
16. October 2017–December 2018 Commander, 96th Aerial Port Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
17. December 2018–August 2021, Commander 302 Mission Support Group, Peterson AFB, Colo.
18. August 2021–March 2024, Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, Ramstein AB, Germany
19. April 2024–present, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern), Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 2009–September 2011, Exercise Planner, U.S. Pacific Command J711, Camp Smith, Hawaii, as a major
2. September 2011–September 2013, Operations Officer, USPACOM J3, Camp Smith, Hawaii, as a lieutenant colonel
3. September 2013–January 2016, Chief of Operations, Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., as a lieutenant colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: senior pilot
Flight hours: over 1,650
Aircraft Flown: T-37, T-1, C-130H3, C-130E
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Air and Space Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device
PUBLICATIONS
“Money Moves: Change Where Your Money Lives, Change How Your Financial World Grows.” DARC Press, May 2022
“Developing Enterprise Connectivity for Logisticians,” The Exceptional Release, Winter 2017
“Regulation of GnRH RECEPTOR mRNA: Interaction of GnRH and ESTRADIOL,” Society for the Study of Reproduction, Biology of Reproduction/Volume 56/Supplement 1, 1997
(Current as of April 2024)