Colonel Kurt Muller is the Director, Readiness Directorate, for the Air Force Civil Engineer Center. He leads a team of 289 personnel providing readiness expertise for 59,000 Air Force Civil Engineer Airmen worldwide. He provides functional management for the RED HORSE, Prime BEEF, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Fire and Emergency Services, and Emergency Management programs for the U.S. Air Force. He provides oversight for the $6 billion Air Force Contract Augmentation Program, AFCAP, supporting contingency and home station surge capability for installations worldwide. He also guides $60 million in Civil Engineer research, development, and acquisition programs to procure systems, equipment, technology, and data to fulfill expeditionary and in-garrison air base requirements.
Col. Muller grew up in Milan, Michigan and entered the Air Force in May 1998 as a graduate of ROTC from Michigan Technological University.
EDUCATION
1998 Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich.
2001 Honor Graduate, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Tech School, Naval School Explosives Ordnance
Disposal, Eglin AFB, Fla.
2003 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2008 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2010 Master of Business Administration, TUI University
2015 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 1998 - Aug 2000, Environmental Tech, 47th Civil Engineer Squadron (CES), Holloman AFB, NM (May 1999 – Oct 1999, Base Engineer Planner, 9th Air Expeditionary Group, Ali Al Salem AB, Kuwait)
2. Aug 2000 - Apr 2001, Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Student, NAVSCH EOD, Eglin AFB, Fla.
3. Apr 2001 - Sep 2003, EOD Flight Commander; 27 CES, Cannon AFB, N.M.
4. Sep 2003 – Sep 2005, EOD Flight Commander, 96 CES, Eglin AFB, Fla.
(Aug 2004 – Jan 2005, EOD Flight Commander, 332 Expeditionary CES, Balad AB, Iraq)
5. Sep 2005 – Nov 2006, Chief of Maintenance Engineering, 8 CES, Kunsan AB, South Korea
6. Nov 2006 - Aug 2008, Chief Civil Engineer and Communications Section, Air Expeditionary Force Center, Air Force Personnel Center, Langley AFB, Va.
(Nov 2007 – May 2008, EOD Flight Commander, 506 Expeditionary CES, Kirkuk AB, Iraq)
7. Aug 2008- Feb 2010, Command Prime BEEF Program Manager, Installations and Mission Support, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
(Jun 2009 – Dec 2009, Chief Military Construction Engineer for Afghanistan, Army Central Command Forward, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait)
8. Feb 2010 – May 2012, Operations Flight Commander, 97 CES, Altus AFB, OK
(Jun 2010 – Jan 2011, Chief Engineer, 577th Expeditionary Prime BEEF Squadron, Bagram AB, Afghanistan)
(Aug 2011 – Mar 2012, Chief Engineer, Regional Support Command-Capital NATO Training Mission- Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command–Afghanistan, Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan)
9. June 2012 – Aug 2014, Commander, 17 CES, Goodfellow AFB, Texas
10. Aug 2014 – Jul 2016, Commander, 647 CES, Deputy JB4, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
11. Jul 2016 – Aug 2017, Deputy Commander, Detachment 2, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
12. Aug 2017 – Aug 2019, Deputy Director, Regional Plans and Posture Division in the Strategic Plans Directorate of Headquarters Air Force, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
(Jan 2019 – Jul 2019, Officer in Charge, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Construction Management Office, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar)
13. Aug 2019 - Jun 2020, Director of Analytics and Assessment, Secretary of the Air Force, Office of the Inspector General, Arlington, Va.
14. Jul 2020 - Present, Commander, 673d Civil Engineer Group, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal (2OLC) Meritorious Service Medal (7OLC) Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal (3OLC) Navy and Marine Corp Commendation Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2001 Honor Graduate, Naval School Explosives Ordnance Disposal
2005 SMSgt Gerald J. Stryzak Best EOD Flight Award, Air Force Material Command 2010 Field Grade Officer of the Year, 97 Air Mobility Wing
2011 Lance P. Sijan Award, 97 Air Mobility Wing
2011 Maj Gen Clifton D. Wright Best Operations Flight Award, Air Education and Training Command 2011 Best Civil Engineer Squadron (Small Unit), Air Education and Training Command
2012 Brigadier Gen Michael A. McAuliffe Housing Flight Award, Air Education and Training Command 2013 Fire Department of the Year (Small Unit), Air Education and Training Command
2020 Commander in Chief’s Installation Excellence Award 2021 Best Large Fire Department, Department of Defense
2021 Balchen Post Review- Best Snow/Ice & Fire Prevention Program, Department of Defense
EFFECTIVE DATE OF PROMOTION
2nd Lieutenant May 1998
1st Lieutenant June 2000
Captain June 2002
Major Apr 2008
Lt. Colonel Sep 2013
Colonel Oct 2019
(Current as of Dec 2023)