Lt Col Jonathan McDonald is the Commander for the 349th Recruiting Squadron directing Air Force recruiting activities of eight enlisted accession flights and the Air Force liaisons at two military entrance processing stations with approximately 94 active-duty and 11 civilian personnel. The squadron is headquartered at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and covers an area of approximately 180,000 square-miles encompassing Oklahoma, Kansas, western Missouri and western Arkansas.
Lt Col McDonald earned his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 2005 from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. He has served at a Distributed Common Ground Station 4 as a Missions Operations Commander, as a Deliberate Targets Analyst at the USAFE 603rd Air Operations Center, as the 820th Base Defense Group Senior Intelligence Officer, Chief of Transnational Organized Crime Analysis Branch at Joint Interagency Task Force West under PACOM, Chief of Force Protection Intelligence for AFCENT, Senior International Engagements Officer at Air Force Global Strike Command, Senior Intelligence Officer to the 2d Bomb Wing, Deputy Chief of ISR at the 608th Air Operations Center, and Chief of HAF A2/6O ISR Strategy and Plans Branch. His deployments include a short tour at the 609th AOC at Al Udeid as Chief of the Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination Cell, on-site Force Protection Intelligence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Strategic Engagements Lead in Afghanistan under NATO orders, a AFCENT Force Protection short tour at Al Udeid AB, Qatar, and a deployment to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing in Qatar as the Senior Intelligence Officer. Lt Col McDonald is a qualified Foreign Affairs Officer (16P) and a graduated parachutist from U.S. Army Airborne School.
Lt Col McDonald has deployed in support of Operations IRAQI FREEDOM, ENDURING FREEDOM, UNIFIED RESPONSE, INHERENT RESOLVE, FREEDOM SENTINEL, NEW DAWN, and RESOLUTE SUPPORT.
MILITARY/CIVILIAN EDUCATION
2005 BA in Criminal Justice, Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX.
2005 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell AFB, AL.
2006 USAF Intelligence Officer Course, Goodfellow AFB, TX.
2009 MA in International Relations, Oklahoma University, Norman, Oklahoma.
2011 SOS In-Res (Distinguished Graduate), Maxwell AFB, AL.
2017 ACSC In-Res (Major General Edward G. Landsdale Award, Best in Flight Award), Maxwell AFB, AL.
2021 Air War College, Distance Learning.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Sept 05 - Apr 06, Student, 315th Training Squadron, Goodfellow AFB, TX.
2. Jun 06 - Jun 08, Deputy Flight Commander Predator Operations, MQ-1 Mission Operations Commander, 24 Intelligence Squadron (DGS-4), Ramstein AB, Germany.
3. Jun 08 - Jun 09, Target Development Officer, Deliberate Targets Division, 603rd AOC, Ramstein AB Germany
4. Oct 08 – Apr 09, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination Cell, ISRD, 609th AOC, Al Udeid AB, Qatar.
5. Jun 09 – Jun 12, Senior Intelligence Officer 823rd Base Defense Squadron, Senior Intelligence Officer 820th Base Defense Group, Moody AFB, GA.
6. Jan 10 – Apr 10, Senior Force Protection Intelligence Officer, 24th Expeditionary Group, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
7. Sept 11 – Dec 11, Chief of Strategic Engagements, NATO Command, Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan.
8. Jun 12 – Jun 15, Transnational Organized Crime Branch Chief, Aide-de-Camp to Coast Guard Admiral, Joint Inter-Agency Task Force West, PACOM, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii.
9. Jun 15 – Jun 16, Chief of Force Protection Intelligence, AFCENT Fwd, Al Udeid AB, Qatar.
10. July 16 – Jun 17, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
11. Jun 17 to – Jun 18, Senior International Engagements Officer (16P), Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale AFB, LA.
12. Jun 18 – Jun 20, Senior Intelligence Officer, 2d Operational Support Squadron, 2d Bomb Wing, Barksdale AFB, LA.
13. Jul 20 – Jun 21, Deputy Chief Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Division, 608th Air Operations Center, 8th Air Force, Barksdale AFB, LA.
14. Jul 21 – Jun 22, ISR Strategy and Plans Branch Chief, Deputy Chief of Staff (DCS), Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Cyber Effects Operations, HQ USAF, Pentagon, Washington DC.
15. Jun 22 –Jun 23, Deputy Division Chief ISR Applications, Deputy Chief of Staff (DCS), Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Cyber Effects Operations, HQ USAF, Pentagon, Washington DC.
16. Jun 23 – Present, Commander, 349th Recruiting Squadron, 369th Recruiting Group,
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Bronze Star Medal (Afghanistan)
Meritorious Service Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Meritorious Unit Award
AF Outstanding Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Recognition Ribbon (USAF SF HHQ CGO YR 2015)
Remote Combat Effects Medal
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with star
Humanitarian Service Medal
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold border and oak leaf cluster
NATO Medal