Col. Ryan Sanford is the Commander, 412th Operations Group, Edwards AFB, California. He leads developmental test and evaluation of nearly every aircraft in the Air Force inventory, associated weapons, and several Joint prototype aircraft. Col Sanford also provides operational oversight of three geographically separated units and numerous Air Force Research Laboratory programs.
Sanford is a 2002 distinguished graduate of the USAF Academy with academic and military distinction. He was awarded a graduate fellowship and completed a Master of Science in Mathematics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2003. Sanford is a command pilot with over 2,400 flying hours, including 191 combat hours, having led F-15E combat sorties in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. A Test Pilot School graduate and instructor pilot, Col Sanford served as an Air Combat Command formal training unit instructor and Air Force Materiel Command F-15 Command Chief Test Pilot. He is also a graduate of the Air Force’s School of Advanced Air and Space Studies and the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies. Prior to this assignment, Sanford was a Deputy Division Chief on the Joint Staff, where he developed “Best Military Advice” for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Security Council.
EDUCATION
2002 Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, US Air Force Academy, CO
2003 Master of Science in Mathematics and Statistics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
2009 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL
2011 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2012 US Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, CA
2012 Master of Science in Flight Test Engineering, Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL
2016 School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS), Maxwell AFB, AL
2016 Master of Philosophy in Military Strategy, Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL
2020 Advanced Strategic Leadership Studies Program (ASLSP), US Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), Fort Leavenworth, KS
2020 Master of Arts in Strategic Studies, US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS
2021 AFWERX Agility Prime Fellow and Fellowship Cohort Lead, the Pentagon, Arlington, VA
2022 Certificate, Machine Learning in Business, MIT Sloan School of Business, Cambridge, MA
2025 Leading Strategically, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, CO
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 2002-August 2003, Graduate Student, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
2. August 2003-May 2005, Student, Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training and Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals, Sheppard AFB, TX
3. May 2005-February 2006, F-15E Upgrade Pilot, 333d Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
4. February 2006-February 2009, F-15E Multi-ship Flight Lead and Flight Commander, 336th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
(Deployed September 2007-Jan 2008, F-15E Flight Lead and Chief of Scheduling, 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Bagram AB, Afghanistan)
5. February 2009-July 2009, F-15E Instructor Course, 333d Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
6. July 2009-November 2011, F-15E Evaluator Pilot, Assistant Director of Operations, and Executive Officer to the Commander, 4th Operations Group, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
7. November 2011-December 2012, Student, US Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, CA
8. December 2012-April 2013, F-16 Test Pilot, 445th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, CA
9. April 2013-July 2015, Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, AFMC F-15 Command Chief Test Pilot, and Assistant Director of Operations, 40th Flight Test Squadron, Eglin AFB, FL
10. July 2015-July 2016, Student, USAF SAASS, Maxwell AFB, AL
11. July 2016-October 2017, Operations Officer, Flight Test Squadron, Assignment data masked
12. October 2017-May 2019, Commander, Flight Test Squadron, Assignment data masked
13. May 2019-July 2020, Air Force Fellow, ASLSP, US Army SAMS, Fort Leavenworth, KS
14. July 2020-June 2022, Political-Military Strategist, Joint Staff, Directorate for Strategy, Plans, and Policy, Deputy Directorate for Political-Military Affairs-Middle East, Iran Branch, the Pentagon, Arlington, VA
15. June 2022-July 2023, Deputy Chief, Joint Staff, Directorate for Strategy, Plans, and Policy, Deputy Directorate for Political-Military Affairs-Middle East and Africa, Iran/Iraq/Syria/OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE Division, the Pentagon, Arlington, VA
16. July 2023-Present, Commander, 412th Operations Group, Edwards AFB, CA
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 2020-June 2022, Political-Military Strategist, Joint Staff, Directorate for Strategy, Plans, and Policy, Deputy Directorate for Political-Military Affairs-Middle East and Africa, Iran Branch, as a lieutenant colonel
2. June 2022-July 2023, Deputy Chief, Joint Staff, Directorate for Strategy, Plans, and Policy, Deputy Directorate for Political-Military Affairs-Middle East and Africa, Iran/Iraq/Syria/ OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE Division, as a colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: More than 2,400, including 191 combat hours
Aircraft flown: F-15E and 36 other aircraft types with Form 8 qualifications in F-15C/D, F-15E, F-16 Blocks 15/30/40/42/50/52, F-22A, F-117A, and one classified prototype aircraft
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Meritorious Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal with one oak leaf cluster
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2001 British Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships Candidate, US Air Force Academy
2002 Distinguished Graduate and Outstanding Cadet in Mathematics, US Air Force Academy
2003 Richard Miller Fellowship, University of Nebraska
2009 Distinguished Graduate and Outstanding Contributor, USAF Squadron Officer School
2011 Olmsted Scholarship Finalist, Olmsted Foundation
2013 Field Grade Officer of the Year, 96th Operations Group
2014 International Test and Evaluation Association Special Achievement Award, 96th Test Wing, Eglin AFB
2014 Colonel James Jabara Award for Airmanship, 96th Test Wing, Eglin AFB
2014 Field Grade Officer of the Year, 96th Test Wing and US Air Force Test Center
2016 Top 10% Graduate (no DG program), USAF SAASS
2020 Superior Graduate and Air Force Fellow, ASLSP, US Army SAMS
PUBLICATIONS
With Kurt Herzinger, “Minimal Generating Sets for Relative Ideals in Numerical Semigroups of Multiplicity Eight,” Communications in Algebra, December 2004
“Cave Defeat in a CAS Environment,” Air Warfare Center Flash Bulletin, 2008
“Evaluation of the LCO Effects from Independently Varied Missile Design Parameters,” USAF Technical Report, 2012
Multiple book reviews in Air and Space Power Journal, Strategic Studies Quarterly and Joint Force Quarterly, 2016-2017
With Scott Pence and Nick Simontis, “Wrong Time to Hack: How Deterrence Theory Informs Policy Options in a Time of COVID-19,” Wild Blue Yonder Journal, April 2020
“Factotum: The US Military in the Twenty-First Century,” Wild Blue Yonder Journal, May 2020
“The Value of Values: Guiding the Air Force through Accelerated Change,” Modern War Institute, November 2020
“Polaris: Strategic Theory as Guiding Light for Space Warfare” in Mastering Space War: The Advanced Strategies, Technologies, and Theories Needed for Victory edited by Paul Szymanski, Nimble Books, 2023