Lt. Col. Brandy N. McCart is the commander of the 345th Recruiting Squadron, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. She commands over 180 military and civilian personnel with geographically separated recruiting offices spanning over 118,000 square miles across six states with an annual budget of $67K.
Lieutenant Colonel McCart received her commission via the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Georgia in 2006. She began her career in the 490th Missile Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base as a Minuteman III missile combat crew member, eventually serving as deputy, commander, instructor, codes controller and chief of training. She followed with a special duty as the 339th Recruiting Squadron Operations and Support Flight Commander and was second in command, supporting 80 personnel at 52 duty locations. She then served on staff at Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command in the Operations directorate as action officer and branch chief for competitions and exercise, leading the command’s participation and assessment over joint, allied & Air Force-level exercises. She then progressed in staff as the headquarters United States Strategic Command Global Operations Directorate’s executive officer and the Director of Global Operations (J3) Missile Control Branch Chief. In her previous assignment she served as Director of Operations for the 595th Strategic Communications Squadron where she coordinated the operation, maintenance and software programming of communications and information capabilities which enables the nation’s global nuclear strike forces.
EDUCATION
2001 Associate of Fine Arts, Young Harris College, Young Harris, Ga.
2005 Bachelor of Arts, Scientific Illustration, Minor: Italian, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
2006 Undergraduate Space & Missile Training, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
2006 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2010 Advanced ICBM Course, Air Force Nuclear War College, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
2011 Squadron Officer School, Correspondence
2012 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2014 Master of Science, Organizational Leadership, Columbia Southern University, Ala.
2016 Nuclear Fundamentals 200, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
2019 Nuclear Fundamentals 300, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
2019 Air Command and Staff College, Correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Feb 2006 – Aug 2006, Student, 392d Training Squadron, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
2. Aug 2006 – Jan 2010, 490th Missile Squadron, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.
3. Jan 2010 – Mar 2012, 341st Operations Support Squadron, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.
4. Mar 2012 – Mar 2014, Operations Flight Commander, 339th Recruiting Squadron, Clinton Township, Mich.
5. Mar 2014 – Jun 2015, Support Flight Commander, 339th Recruiting Squadron, Clinton Township, Mich.
6. Jun 2015 – May 2017, Chief ICBM Codes & Nuclear Surety, Directorate of Operations & Communications (A3/6), Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command, 7. Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
7. May 2017 – Jan 2018, Branch Chief, Exercises & Competitions, Directorate of Operations & Communications (A3/6), Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
8. Jan 2018 – Oct 2019, Branch Chief, Missile Control Branch, Directorate of Global Operations (J3), United States Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
9. Oct 2019 – Aug 2020, Executive Officer for the Director of Global Operations (J3), United States Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
10. Aug 2020 – Jun 2022, Director of Operations, 595th Strategic Communications Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
11. Jun 2022 – Present, Commander, 345th Recruiting Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.|
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal
Air and Space Commendation Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster Combat Readiness Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Nuclear Operations Deterrence Medal with “N” device
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Jan. 19, 2006
First Lieutenant Jan. 19, 2008
Captain Jan. 19, 2010
Major April 1, 2016
Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 2021