Stephen Ray Jones, MS

Experience

• 

  United States Department of the Air Force

  May 1996 - now

  Chief, Senate Legislative Liaison (Colonel), Russell Senate Office Building

  • Head, on-site liaison between U.S. Senate and Department of Air Force on all air/space weapons systems and programs. • Lead seven staff advising senators on strategy and $215B military budget details. Prepare Secretary of the Air Force, Chief of Staff of Air Force, Chief of Space Operations, and other senior leaders for testimony and meetings with U.S. Congress.

• 

  United States Air Force

  Jun 1996 - Oct 2003

  • Picked as one of two pilots (from 50+) for TS/SCI mission to test and develop the first armed combat drones in history. • Saved 15 lives (Distinguished Flying Cross nominee) for emergency air support of shot down CH-47 in Operation Anaconda. • Profiled in Never Mind, We’ll Do It Ourselves (2021) book about the origin and development of armed drones. • Fielded remote-split operations and remote-operated video-enhanced receiver; created initial UAV close air support tactics. • Led B-1 Global Power missions to Pacific and European theaters, responsible for GBU-31 GPS guided bomb fielding on B-1. • Competitively selected to attend 13-nation pilot training program, emphasis on 2/4-ship formation and low-level navigation.

  • Pilot and Instructor, Chief of Training (Captain), RQ-1 & MQ-1 UAV, Indian Springs Auxiliary Field

    Jan 2001 - Oct 2003

  • Aircraft Commander, Weapons/Tactics Officer (Captain), B-1 Aircraft, Mountain Home Air Force Base

    Jan 1998 - Dec 2000

  • Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) (Lieutenant), Sheppard Air Force Base

    Jun 1996 - Dec 1997
• 

  United States Air Force

  Mar 2004 - Jul 2007

  Aircraft Commander and Instructor Pilot (Major), B-1 Aircraft, Ellsworth Air Force Base

  • Flew numerous high-risk, successful B-1 bomber jet combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq during Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM, non-combat missions in Europe and the Pacific, and the MAKS Russian airshow in Moscow.

• 

  Royal Air Force (RAF)

  Jul 2008 - Jul 2010

  Director, RAF Higher Air Warefare Course (Lieutenant Colonel), RAF Cranwell

  • Trained 2,800+ UK officers in airpower doctrine, counterinsurgency, multi-national airpower ops, and campaign planning.

• 

  United States Air Force

  Jul 2010 - Jul 2014

  Squadron Commander, 17th Reconnaissance Squadron (Lieutenant Colonel), Creech Air Force Base

  • Led squadron of 400+ airmen executing 8,000+ UAV combat missions, collecting 121,000+ hours of critical full-motion video, orchestrating 57 multi-ship airstrikes, and eliminating 264 enemy combatants, including 34 high-value targets. • Reduced Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq by leading the testing and fielding of the $40M ACES HY hyperspectral sensor on the MQ-1 Predator that detected enemy explosives and other illicit materials. • Enabled motion imagery collection and artificial intelligence analysis of entire city by leading testing of $381M Gorgon Stare. • Oversaw design, construction, and fielding of $40M combat operations facility, ensured operations of 14 combat air patrols. Show less

• 

  United States Department of Defense

  Jul 2015 - Aug 2017

  Chief, Special Programs Division, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence (Colonel), Pentagon

  • Advised National Security Council, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force, and US defense manufacturers on Top Secret Special Access Program advanced ISR/strike UAV development. • Spearheaded one-year, $1.4M Booz Allen Hamilton project (directed team of 14 consultants) to review Air Force’s UAV training program, resulting in 30% cost savings overall, and accelerating training timeline by four months per pilot.

• 

  United States Air Force

  Aug 2017 - May 2021

  • Commanded 4,400+ airmen flying and supporting 24/7 combat operations at the premier, globally recognized UAV base. • Oversaw $70M annual budget, 21 squadrons at four bases, and 600 personnel in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Pacific. • Led 2,900 successful strikes and elimination of 49 high-value combatants by managing 36,500 missions (67,000 flight hours). • As base senior executive, set air base strategy, UAV mission operations, research and development, security, personnel, real estate expansion, $101M construction budget, military family support services, and all other functions of large military base. • Led one-on-one engagements with Senator Cortez Masto, Congressman Horsford, Las Vegas Mayor Goodman, 16 Native American tribes across NV, CA, AZ, and UT and other city, county, and community affairs and stakeholder outreach. • Supervised creation and execution of strategic communications, public relations, marketing, and social media. Show less

  • Wing/Base Commander, 432d Wing/432d Air Expeditionary Wing (Colonel), Creech Air Force Base

    Jun 2019 - May 2021

  • Deputy Commander, 603d Air Operations Center (Colonel)

    Jul 2018 - Jun 2019

  • Group Commander, 451st Air Expeditionary Group (Colonel - Deployed)

    Aug 2017 - Jul 2018
• 

  United States Forces Korea (USFK)

  May 2021 - May 2023

  Special Assistant to Commander, United States Forces Korea (Colonel), Camp Humphreys, South Korea

  • #1 Assistant to 4-star Commanding General for all military operations for Korean peninsula. Provided insights, advice, and guidance. Acted as senior Air Force leader on 36,500-person base, dispensed critical information on air power capabilities. • Led 4-star pol-mil 12-member advisory team. Implemented essential synergies across highest US/ROK alliance levels and 22 United Nations sending states. Achieved stabilization of NE Asia during extraordinary level of North Korean provocations. • Managed all congressional engagements, wrote USFK Posture Statement to SASC and HASC, led congressional testimony. Show less