Colonel Daniel J. Hilferty is the Deputy Commander of the 621st Contingency Response Wing (CRW), Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, with additional forces stationed at Travis Air Force Base, California, and at twenty Army and Marine Corps installations worldwide. The 621st is the Nation’s only Contingency Response Wing, consisting of the 621st and 821st Contingency Response Groups, as well as the 621st Air Mobility Advisory Group. The Wing has three primary missions: advising partner nations and joint partners; directing theater-wide command and control; and projecting mobility airpower around the globe for contingency and humanitarian operations. The Wing accomplishes its mission with a lean force of 1,500 professional Airmen.
Colonel Hilferty was commissioned in 2002 at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering. He commanded the 451st Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron (EOSS), Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. He has completed staff tours at Air Force Materiel Command, Air Mobility Command, and U.S. Transportation Command. Colonel Hilferty is a command pilot with more than 3,900 flying hours including over 1,500 combat hours in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL and the Resolute Support mission. He is a graduate of the USAF Weapons School and was an Air Force Fellow at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
EDUCATION
2002 Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, USAFA CO
2008 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB AL
2009 USAF Weapons Instructor Course, USAF Weapons School, Nellis AFB NV
2009 Master of Liberal Arts, Software Engineering, Extension Studies, Harvard University, MA
2014 Air Force Fellows, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Washington, D.C.
2022 Master of Strategic Studies, Grand Strategy Concentration, Air War College, Montgomery, AL
ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 2002 – March 2003, student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Moody AFB GA
2. April 2003 – November 2003, student, Joint Advanced Multi-Engine Flight Training, Corpus Christi NAS TX
3. December 2003 – April 2004, student pilot, C-130 Formal Training Unit, Little Rock AFB AR
4. May 2004 – April 2007, C-130 Instructor Pilot and Executive Officer, 61 AS, Little Rock AFB
AR
5. May 2007 – January 2010, Flight Commander and C-130 Instructor Pilot, 53 AS, Little Rock AFB AR
6. February 2010 – May 2012, C-130 Weapons Officer and Chief of Tactics, 40 AS, Dyess AFB TX
7. June 2012 – June 2013, Weapons & Tactics Flight Commander and C-130J Instructor Pilot, 317 OSS, Dyess AFB TX
8. July 2013 – July 2014, Air Force Fellow, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington VA
9. August 2014 – June 2017, Chief of Test & Evaluation Management Branch, Directorate of Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations, HQ AFMC, Wright Patterson AFB OH
10. July 2017 – December 2017, ADO of Joint Plans, 34 CTS, Little Rock AFB AR
11. January 2018 – July 2018, Acting Director of Operations, 34 CTS, Little Rock AFB AR
12. July 2018 – July 2019, Director of Operations, 34 CTS, Little Rock AFB AR
13. July 2019 – July 2020, Commander, 451 EOSS, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan
14. November 2020 – June 2021, Chief of Future Capabilities Development, Directorate of Strategic Plans, Requirements & Programs, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB IL
15. July 2021 – July 2022, Student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL
16. July 2022 – April 2022, Chief, INDOPACOM Plans Branch, Directorate of Strategic Plans, Requirements & Programs, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB IL
17. May 2023 – June 2024, Chief, Commander’s Action Group, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB IL
18. June 2024 – Present, Deputy Commander, 621st Contingency Response Wing, U.S. Transportation Command, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst NJ
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: 3,500
Aircraft Flown: C-130E, C-130H, C-130J, E-11A
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with silver oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant 29 May 2002
First Lieutenant 29 May 2004
Captain 29 May 2006
Major 1 April 2012
Lieutenant Colonel 1 March 2017
Colonel 1 September 2023
(Current as of August 2024)