Col. Thomas M. Tauer commands the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., home to the world’s largest airfield and the prestigious Air Force Test Pilot School. An experienced test pilot, he leads a wing of about 5,500 people in the developmental test and evaluation of the B-21 Raider, B-2 Spirit, B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress family of bombers, the KC-46 Pegasus multirole aerial refueling tanker and cargo aircraft, the KC-135 Stratotanker, the C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft, the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters, the T-7A Red Hawk trainer, and the E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center among other aircraft, associated aircraft systems and a variety of experimental technologies. During his command the wing is expected to test collaborative combat aircraft and the next-generation air dominance F-47 fighter jet.

As installation commander for both Edwards and the nearby Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Tauer is responsible for supporting approximately 27,500 military members, federal employees and defense industrial base contractors.

Tauer earned his commission in May 2003 from the Air Force Academy. He has served as a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency fellow, joint staff officer, wing chief of safety, and flight test squadron commander. Prior to his current position, Tauer was 96th Test Wing deputy commander, Eglin AFB, Fla. He is a command pilot with more than 2,400 flying hours in a variety of aircraft, including tours as an instructor pilot and evaluator. He flew more than 200 combat hours during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

EDUCATION
2003 Bachelor of Science, Aeronautical Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
2009 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2011 Master of Science, Aeronautical Science, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Ariz.
2012 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2014 Master of Science, Flight Test Engineering, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, Calif.
2015 Master of Science, Aeronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
2017 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Fellowship, Arlington, Va.
2023 Master of Arts, National Security and Strategic Studies, U.S. Naval War College, Naval Station Newport, R.I.

ASSIGNMENTS
1.  July 2003 – May 2005, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
2.  May 2005 – September 2006, Student, F-16 Upgrade Training, 61st Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
3.  September 2006 – December 2007, F-16 Pilot/Assistant Chief of Training, 13th Fighter Sq, Misawa Air Base, Japan
(May 2007 – October 2007, F-16 Pilot/Assistant Weapons Officer, 13th Fighter Sq, Balad AB, Iraq)
4.  December 2007 – August 2009, F-16 Instructor Pilot/Activity Security Monitor, 13th Fighter Sq, Misawa AB, Japan
(February 2009 – May 2009, F-16 Instructor Pilot/Activity Security Monitor, 13th Fighter Sq, Suwon AB, South Korea)
5.  August 2009 – October 2010, F-16 IP/Flight Commander, 62nd Fighter Sq, Luke AFB, Ariz.
6.  October 2010 – May 2012, F-16 Evaluator Pilot/Standards and Evaluation Officer, 56th Operations Group, Luke AFB, Ariz.      
7.  May 2012 – August 2012, F-16 EP/Assistant Director of Operations, 62nd Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
8.  August 2012 – December 2013, Student/Class Leader, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
9.  December 2013 – February 2015, Student/Class Leader, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, Calif.
10.  February 2015 – December 2015, F-16 IP/Test Pilot/Training Flight Commander, Eglin AFB, Fla.
11.  December 2015 – July 2016, F-16 IP/Test Pilot/ADO, 40th Flight Test Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.
12.  July 2016 – May 2017, Fellow, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va.
13.  May 2017 – May 2019, Requirements Officer/Electronic Warfare and Autonomous Systems Lead, Joint Staff J8, Washington D.C.
14.  May 2019 – July 2020, Wing Chief of Safety (data masked)
15.  July 2020 – July 2022, Commander, Flight Test Squadron (data masked)
16.  July 2022 – June 2023, Student, United States Naval War College, Naval Station Newport, R.I.
17.  July 2023 – June 2025, Deputy Commander, 96th Test Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla.
18.  July 2025 – present, Commander, 412th Test Wing, Edwards AFB, Calif.