Col. Chris Carnduff is the commander of the 412th Mission Support Group at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The 412th MSG conducts base operations for more than 20,000 personnel assigned to the Air Force Test Center, 412th Test Wing, Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, Plant 42 and 50 associate units on two bases encompassing 313,800 acres. Carnduff leads more than 1,800 personnel and directs force protection, communications, civilian and military personnel administration, supply, transportation, fuels and deployment activities, as well as morale, welfare and recreation services. He also serves as the liaison to the local school districts, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and the Defense Commissary Agency.
Carnduff entered the Air Force in 2001 as a distinguished graduate of the University of Illinois Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. As a company grade officer, he served in a variety of positions within base-level civil engineer squadrons, including chief of design, programs flight commander, readiness and emergency management flight commander, and operations flight commander.
Carnduff has served in a variety of positions on the Air Staff, including joint engineer program manager, chief of strategic communications, legislative liaison and deputy chair of the Installation Support Panel. He also served on the Air Force Installations and Mission Support Center staff as the installations support branch chief within the Plans and Programs Division. As a lieutenant colonel, he was the commander of the 628th Civil Engineer Squadron (Air Mobility Command) at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and the commander of the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron (Air Force Global Strike Command) at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Most recently, Carnduff was the chief of the Strategy and Plans Division within the Air Staff’s Directorate of Civil Engineering.
Carnduff has deployed in support of U.S. Central Command operations four times: Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, in 2003, where he served as a construction manager and airfield engineer; Balad Air Base, Iraq, in 2006, where he was a liaison officer for the 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, responsible for supporting more than 200 civil engineers under tactical control of Army and joint commanders; Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, in 2008, as a project manager and airfield engineer within the Facilities Engineer Team; and Balad Air Base, Iraq, from 2010 to 2011, where he served as the deputy engineer for the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula.
EDUCATION
2001 Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill.
2002 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2007 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. (Top Third Graduate)
2009 Master of Business Administration, Webster University, Pope AFB, N.C.
2012 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. (by correspondence)
2015 Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Va. (Distinguished Graduate)
2015 Master of Military Studies, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Va.
2022 National Defense Fellow, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 2002 – April 2005, Civil Engineer, Chief of Design, Chief of Customer Service, and Programs Flight Commander, 796th Civil Engineer Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
2. April 2005 – January 2006, Chief Civil Engineer, C-130J Program Integration Office, 43d Airlift Wing, Pope AFB, N.C.
3. February 2006 – July 2009, Chief of Plans and Programs, Readiness and Emergency Management Flight Commander, and Operations Flight Commander, 43d Civil Engineer Squadron, Pope AFB, N.C.
4. July 2009 – July 2012, Joint Engineer Program Manager, Strategic Initiatives Program Manager, and Chief of Strategic Communications, Office of The Civil Engineer, Headquarters Air Force, Washington, D.C.
5. July 2012 – July 2014, Chief of Installations and MILCON Branch, Legislative Liaison, Headquarters Air Force, Washington, D.C.
6. July 2014 – June 2015, Student, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Va.
7. June 2015 – June 2017, Chief of Installations Support Branch, Plans and Programs Division, Air Force Installations and Mission Support Center, Joint Base San Antonio Lackland-Kelly, Tex.
8. July 2017 – July 2019, Commander, 628th Civil Engineer Squadron, JB Charleston, S.C.
9. July 2019 – June 2021, Commander, 2d Civil Engineer Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La.
10. July 2021 – June 2022, National Defense Fellow, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.
11. July 2022 – June 2023, Deputy Chair, Installation Support Panel, Headquarters Air Force, Washington, D.C.
12. June 2023 – July 2024, Chief, Strategy and Plans Division, Directorate of Civil Engineering, Headquarters Air Force, Washington, D.C.
13. July 2024 – Present, Commander, 412th Mission Support Group, Edwards AFB, Cal.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Bronze Star
Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Air and Space Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with service star
Iraq Campaign Medal with two service stars
(Current as of October 2025)