Col Justin Ballinger is the Commander of the 621st Contingency Response Wing (CRW), with forces stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Travis Air Force Base, California, and 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 four primary missions: advising partner nations; directing theater-wide command and control; joint integration; and opening airbases around the globe for contingency and humanitarian operations. The Wing accomplishes its mission with an agile force of 1,500 professional Airmen.
Colonel Ballinger commissioned in May 2003 through the United States Air Force Academy. His previous commands include the 60th Operations Group, Travis AFB California;722d Expeditionary Air Base Squadron, Sidi Ahmed, Tunisia; and the largest combat airlift squadron in the Air Force, the 9th Airlift Squadron, Dover AFB, Delaware. Previous staff assignments include time as a Legislative Liaison for the Secretary of the Air Force, Special Assistant to the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and liaison to the National Capitol Region for the United States Air Force Academy. Colonel Ballinger has served as an evaluator and instructor pilot with over 800 combat and combat support hours in the C-5. He has deployed in support of combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya.
EDUCATION
2003 Bachelor of Science, Operations Research, United States Air Force Academy, Co.
2003 Bachelor of Science, Mathematics, United States Air Force Academy, Co.
2010 Master of Business Administration, Florida State University, Fla.
2010 Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2013 Air Command and Staff College, Correspondence, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2015 Master of Public Policy Management, McConn Scholar, Air Force Fellow, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown
University, D.C.
2020 Distinguished Graduate, Master of Arts, National Security Strategy and Resourcing, Eisenhower School, National Defense
University, Fort McNair, D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 2004 – January 2005, Student Pilot, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
2. January 2005 – June 2005, C-5 Initial Qualification Student, Altus AFB, Ok.
3. June 2005 – June 2010, C-5 Flight Examiner, Instructor, and Aircraft Commander, Squadron Standardization
and Evaluation Pilot, Assistant Flight Commander, and Squadron and Wing Executive Officer, 9th Airlift
Squadron, 436th Airlift Wing, Dover AFB, Del.
4. June 2010 – September 2012, Air Mobility Command Phoenix Mobility Officer, Contingency Response
Element Commander, and Operations Flight Commander, 819th Global Support Squadron, 621st Contingency
Response Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
5. September 2012 – May 2014, Executive Officer and Aide de Camp to the Commander, United States Air
Force Expeditionary Center, JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
6. May 2014 – July 2015, Air Force Fellow and McConn Scholar, Georgetown University, D.C.
7. July 2015 – June 2016, Deputy Branch Chief of Strategy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Legislative Liaison,
Pentagon, Va.
8. June 2016 – January 2018, Director of Operations, 436th Operations Support Squadron, Dover AFB, De. (April 2017 – October
2017, Commander, 722d Expeditionary Air Base Squadron, Sidi Ahmed, Tunisia)
9. January 2018 – June 2019, Commander, 9th Airlift Squadron, Dover AFB, De.
10. July 2019 – July 2020, Student, Eisenhower School, National Defense University, D.C.
11. July 2020 – July 2022, Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon, D.C.
12. July 2022 – June 2023, Director, United States Air Force Academy Washington D.C. Office, Pentagon, D.C.
13. June 2023 – July 2025, Commander, 60th Operations Group, Travis AFB Ca.
14. July 2025 – Present, Commander, 621st Contingency Response Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 2020 – July 2022, Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as a Lieutenant Colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: Over 3,000
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-1, C-5 A/B/M, KC-10, C-17, KC-46
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Meritorious Unit Award
Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award with six Oak Leaf Clusters
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 28, 2003
First Lieutenant May 28, 2005
Captain May 28, 2007
Major June 1, 2013
Lieutenant Colonel December 1, 2016
Colonel June 1, 2022
(Current as of July 2025)