Lt. Col. Benjamin Schulze is the Commander of the 347th Recruiting Squadron (347 RCS) headquartered in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. In his current position, Lt Col Schulze leads and operates the recruiting activities of nine enlisted accession flights with approximately 113 active-duty enlisted, officer, and civilian personnel. His area of responsibility covers an 89,000-square-mile area that includes Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Its mission is to inspire, engage and recruit future Airmen and Guardians to deliver air and space power for America.
Lt. Col. Schulze entered the Air Force in May 2007 as commissioned officer from the US Air Force Academy. During his 15 years of service, Lt. Col. Schulze has served in the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), as a Fuels Research Chemist, at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) as a Flight Commander, at the Deployed Aerospace Fuels Lab as Lab Chief, at the US Air Force Academy Department of Chemistry as an Assistant Professor, and at the Air Force Drug Testing Lab as Director of Operations. Prior to his current position, he was the Chief for the Acquisition Airman Career Management Branch at the Air Force Personnel Center located at Joint Base San Antonio – Randolph, Texas. While there, Lt. Col. Schulze oversaw assignments and professional development for over 11,000 Air Force officers and enlisted personnel including scientists, engineers, acquisitions, contracting, and finance Air Force Specialty Codes.
Lt. Col. Schulze has also earned his PhD in chemistry from the University of Florida in 2013 as well as a Measurements and Signatures Intelligence (MASINT) certificate from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 2013.
EDUCATION
2007 Bachelor of Science, Chemistry, US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado
2008 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama
2013 Doctorate of Philosophy, Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
2013 Certificate, Measurements and Signatures Intelligence, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio
2014 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama
2017 Air Command and Staff College (in-correspondence), Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama
2022 Air War College (in-correspondence), Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama
ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 2007 – August 2009, Fuels Research Chemist, Air Force Research Lab, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
2. September 2009 – August 2013, Graduate Student, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
3. September 2013 – July 2016, Sensor Characterization Team Lead, Research and Development Flight Commander, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (January 2016 – July 2016, Chief, Aerospace Fuels Lab, Al Udeid AB, Qatar)
4. August 2016 – July 2019, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado
5. July 2019 – May 2022, Director of Operations, Air Force Drug Testing Lab, Joint Base San Antonio Lackland, Texas
6. May 2022 – June 2023, Branch Chief, Acquisition Airmen Career Management, Joint Base San Antonio Randolph, Texas
7. June 2023 – present, Commander, 347th Recruiting Squadron, Air Force Recruiting Service, Oak Creek, Wisconsin
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Air and Space Achievement Medal
Air Force Scientist of the Year
PUBLICATIONS
“Estimating the shape and size of supramolecular assemblies by variable temperature diffusion ordered spectroscopy” Organic Biomolecular Chemistry, 2014, 12, 7952
“Consequences of hydrogen bonding on molecular organization and charge transport in molecular organic photovoltaic materials” Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2014, 2, 1541
Rational Design of One Dimensional Columnar Self-Assembled Nanostructures for Applications as Organic Semiconductive Materials, Dissertation, University of Florida, 2013.
“Increasing the utility of the copper cylinder expansion test” Propellants, Explosives, and Pyrotechnics, 2010, 35, 433