Col. Sean Stapler is Director, Operations at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. He is responsible for leading more than 200 engineers in five divisions that provide civil engineer technical, management, and training expertise to Air Force engineers worldwide. The directorate executes direct support to squadrons and wings for civil engineer facility and infrastructure operations across all engineer disciplines to include pavements, facilities, utilities, and control system cyber security. Also, in direct support of various Department of the Air Force facility and infrastructure interests and requirements, the directorate provides Air Force and Space Force policy and guidance through membership on the various Department of Defense governing boards and councils.
Col. Stapler entered the Air Force in December 2004 through Officer Training School after graduating from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He is a civil engineer officer and has served in numerous base-level, major command, and Headquarters Air Force staff positions, and has commanded two civil engineer squadrons. He has 50 months of contingency engineering experience spanning seven deployments in support of operations New Horizons, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, New Dawn, Inherent Resolve, and Freedom’s Sentinel. Prior to his current position, the colonel was the Commander, 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida.
EDUCATION
2004 Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt.
2004 Officer Training School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2005 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2011 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2012 Master of Science, Engineering Management, Rowan University, Glassboro, N.J.
2014 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2016 Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
2021 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 2005–May 2006, Environmental Engineer, 354th Civil Engineer Squadron, Eielson AFB, Alaska (February 2006–May 2006, Construction Site Officer in Charge, Operation New Horizons, El Cacao, Honduras)
2. May 2006–June 2007, Prime BEEF Program Manager, 354th Civil Engineer Squadron, Eielson AFB, Alaska
3. June 2007–September 2008, Senior Base Engineer Advisor, Coalition Army Advisory Training Team, Taji Military Base, Iraq
4. October 2008–November 2010, Kaiserslautern Operations Flight Commander, 786th Civil Engineer Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany (November 2009 – November 2010, Senior Engineer, Laghman Provincial Reconstruction Team, Laghman Province, Afghanistan)
5. November 2010–July 2011, Readiness and Emergency Management Flight Commander, 886th Civil Engineer Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany
6. July 2011–July 2012, Executive Officer, 86th Civil Engineer Group, Ramstein AB, Germany (December 2011–June 2012, Chief of Base Development, 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Al Udeid AB, Qatar)
7. August 2012–July 2013, Asset Optimization Program Manager, Installations and Mission Support Directorate, Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
8. July 2013–May 2015, Executive Officer, Installations and Mission Support Directorate, Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla. (October 2014–May 2015, Mission Support Flight Commander and Civil Engineer Advisor, 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan)
9. June 2015–June 2016, Student, Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
10. June 2016–November 2018, Operations Flight Commander, 633d Civil Engineer Squadron, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA (January 2017–July 2017, Deputy Director and Airfield Pavement Evaluation OIC, Installations Directorate, Air Force Central Command Forward, Al Udeid AB, Qatar, and April 2018–November 2018, Director of Operations, 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron, Al Udeid AB, Qatar)
11. December 2018–August 2020, Executive Officer, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington, D.C.
12. August 2020–July 2021, Deputy Chair, Installation Support Panel, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington, D.C.
13. July 2021–June 2023, Commander, 9th Civil Engineer Squadron, Beale AFB, Calif.
14. July 2023–July 2025, Commander, 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
15. August 2025–Present, Director, Operations Directorate, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three bronze campaign stars
Iraq Campaign Medal with one bronze campaign star
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal
NATO Medal
Army Combat Action Badge
German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (Gold Award)
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant December 17, 2004
First Lieutenant December 17, 2006
Captain December 17, 2008
Major April 1, 2015
Lieutenant Colonel September 1, 2019
Colonel September 1, 2025
(Current as of September 2025)