Major General CHAPLAIN DONDI E. COSTIN

Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Dondi E. Costin is the Chief of Chaplains, Headquarters U. S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. As a member of the special staff of the Chief of Staff, he establishes guidance and provides advice on all matters pertaining to the religious and moral welfare of Air Force personnel. He is responsible for establishing effective programs to meet the religious needs of Air Force members and their dependents. As Chief of Chaplains, he is the senior pastor for more than 664,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian forces serving in the U.S. and overseas. He leads an Air Force Chaplain Corps of approximately 2,000 chaplains and Religious Affairs Airmen from the active duty and Air Reserve components. As chairman of the Armed Forces Chaplain Board, he and his colleagues advise the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff on religious, ethical and quality-of-life concerns.

Chaplain Costin is a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, and was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy in 1986. He then served as a squadron-level scientific analyst evaluating air-to-ground precision guided munitions, chief of scientific analysis on a major command headquarters staff, and assistant professor of aerospace studies. He completed a competitive category transfer into the Air Force Chaplain Corps in 1996. Chaplain Costin has since served as Protestant chaplain for Air Force Basic Military Training, flightline chaplain and then senior flightline chaplain for both special operations and conventional forces in Europe, senior Protestant chaplain, readiness instructor/evaluator preparing Chaplain Corps personnel for worldwide deployment, Air Staff branch chief, wing chaplain, command chaplain for the air component mission in Southwest Asia, and command chaplain for Pacific Air Forces. An ordained Southern Baptist minister, Chaplain Costin is endorsed by the Liberty Baptist Fellowship to serve as an Air Force Chaplain.

EDUCATION
1986 Bachelor of Science degree in operations research, The United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1991 Master of Arts degree in counseling, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Va.
1992 U.S. Air Force Academic Instructor School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1992 Master of Arts degree in religion, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, Lynchburg, Va.
1993 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1994 Master of Divinity degree, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas
2001 Master of Military Operational Art and Science degree, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2003 Doctor of Ministry degree, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky.
2008 Air War College, by correspondence, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2008 Doctor of Philosophy degree in leadership, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky.
2009 Master of Strategic Studies degree, with academic distinction, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1986 - July 1989, Scientific Analyst, 4486th Fighter Weapons Squadron, USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center, Eglin AFB, Fla.
2. July 1989 - July 1992, Chief Scientific Analyst, HQ TAC/XP-Joint Studies Group, Langley AFB, Va.
3. July 1992 - July 1996, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas
4. July 1996 - August 1998, Protestant Chaplain, 37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB, Texas
5. August 1998 - August 2000, Flightline Chaplain then Senior Flightline Chaplain, 100th Air Refueling Wing, RAF Mildenhall, Englamd
6. August 2000 - June 2001, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
7. June 2001 - May 2004, Senior Protestant Chaplain, 43rd Airlift Wing, Pope AFB, N.C.
8. May 2004 - June 2005, Staff Chaplain, Air Mobility Warfare Center, Fort Dix, N.J.
9. June 2005 - July 2008, Chief, Chaplain Corps Resource Board, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
10. July 2008 - June 2009, student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
11. June 2009 - May 2011, Wing Chaplain, 52d Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem AB, Germany
12. June 2011 - June 2012, Command Chaplain, U.S. Air Forces Central, Southwest Asia
13. June 2012 - August 2015, Command Chaplain, Pacific Air Forces, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
14. August 2015 - present, Chief of Chaplains, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2011 – June 2012, Command Chaplain, U.S. Air Forces Central, Combined Air and Space Operations Center, Southwest Asia, as a colonel

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with six oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Gallant Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device and seven oak leaf clusters
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Recognition Ribbon
National Defense Service Medal with bronze star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Kosovo Campaign Medal with bronze star
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three bronze stars
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Korean Defense Service Medal
Armed Forces Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal
Air and Space Campaign Medal with bronze star
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border
NATO Medal (ISAF)

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 28, 1986
First Lieutenant May 28, 1988
Captain May 28, 1990
Major March 1, 2000
Lieutenant Colonel March 1, 2006
Colonel April 1, 2011
Major General August 28, 2015

(Current as of August 2018)