Col Douglas P. Wickert is the Commander of the 412th Test Wing, Edwards Air Force Base, California. He leads a wing of nearly 8,000 personnel in the developmental test and evaluation of the KC-46, KC-135, KC-10, C-17, C-5, F-35, F-22, F-16, B-21, B-1, B-2, B-52, eT-7A, RQ-4 and emerging technologies. Additionally, Col Wickert is the Installation Commander responsible for base operations support for more than 19,500 active duty, reserve, civil service and defense industrial base contractors at Edwards, the second largest base in the U.S. Air Force, and Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.
Col Wickert was most recently the Permanent Professor and Head of the Department of Aeronautics, US Air Force Academy, the #1 ranked undergraduate Aeronautics program in the country. He served as the Chair of the Engineering Division overseeing six Engineering Departments while leading the largest engineering department at the Academy with more than 60 faculty and researchers supporting education and research in aerodynamics, flight mechanics, propulsion, hypersonic, aircraft structures, and experimental methods. The Department of Aeronautics hosts three Department of Defense Research Centers and the world-renowned Aeronautics Laboratory.
Col Wickert was commissioned in 1995 as a distinguished graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has commanded at the squadron and group levels and served in
a variety of technology development and program management assignments. Col Wickert is a distinguished graduate of the US Naval Test Pilot School and holds advanced engineering degrees from MIT and AFIT. He is a command pilot with combat time and over 2000 flying hours in more than 40 different aircraft.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: More than 2,000
Aircraft Flown: F-16 and 40+ other aircraft
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with five oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with five oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 1, 1995
First Lieutenant June 1, 1997
Captain June 1, 1999
Major July 1, 2005
Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 2010
Colonel May 1, 2016