Colonel Zachary B. Zeiner serves as Commander, 387th Air Expeditionary Group, Southwest Asia. He is responsible for providing and integrating base operating support, coordinating with host nation partners, and administration of the Joint Expeditionary Tasked / Individual Augmentees in the northern Arabian Gulf.
Colonel Zeiner was born and raised in Ojai, California and received his commission in 1994 from the United States Air Force Academy. He attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus Air Force Base, MS. Colonel Zeiner is a command pilot with more than 4,700 flying hours and has performed instructor and evaluator duties in the C-21 and C-5 aircraft.
Before assuming his current position, Colonel Zeiner was the Deputy Command Center Director for NORAD/USNORTHCOM, where he was responsible to the CDR’s Senior Director as Headquarters NORAD & USNORTHCOM’s personal representative for daily operations, while also executing national and global missile, maritime and domestic aerospace defense missions for North America.
He attended the U.S. Naval War College for Senior Developmental Education and was previously the Chief, Joint Airlift Operations, USNORTHCOM/J47, where he was responsible for multi-modal mobility/transportation oversight, planning, policy, force tracking/in-transit visibility and execution in support of N-NC forces or civil authorities for homeland defense, civil support operations, exercises and aeromedical evacuation. He has also held positions as Commander, 22d Airlift Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, Calif. and Executive Officer for the USAFE Director of Air and Space Operations, Ramstein AB, Germany.
Additionally he was Chief of NATO and Joint Eurasian Exercises where he established MAJCOM policy, plans, and procedures for USAFE forces supporting Joint Chiefs of Staff exercises. Colonel Zeiner also represented the USAF to foreign nations, negotiating with European, Middle Eastern and Eurasian country military planners.
EDUCATION
1994 Bachelor of Science, Behavioral Sciences, United States Air Force Academy, Colo.
2001 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2004 Air Command and Staff College (Correspondence)
2005 Master of Science, Aviation Management, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
2008 Master of Transportation Management and Air Mobility, Advanced Study of Air Mobility, Fort Dix, N J.
2010 Air War College (Correspondence)
2013 Master of Arts Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1994 – May 1996, Student, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus AFB, Miss.
2. May 1996 – Sept 1999, C-21 Evaluator Pilot, Chief of Current Operations, Peterson AFB, Colo.
3. Sept 1999 – May 2004, C-5 Evaluator Pilot, Wing FSO, Travis AFB, Calif
4. May 2004 – May 2007, C-5 FTU Instructor Pilot, Chief, Wing Current Ops, Wing Executive Officer, Altus AFB, Okla.
5. May 07 – June 08, Student, Advanced Study of Air Mobility, Ft Dix, N.J.
6. June 08 – June 10, Chief, NATO & Joint EURASIAN exercises, Executive Officer, Ramstein AB, Germany.
7. June 10 – June 12, Commander, 22d Airlift Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
8. June 12 – June 13, Student, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
9. June 13 – May 15, Chief, Joint Airlift Operations, USNORTHCOM/J-4/7, Peterson AFB, Colo.
10. May 15 – June 16, Deputy Command Center Director, USNORTHCOM/J3, Peterson AFB, Colo.
11. June 16 – Present, Commander, 387th Air Expeditionary Group, Southwest Asia
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 4,700
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38, C-21A and C-5A/B/C
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Flying Cross
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal
2004 Lt Gen William H. Tunner Award
2004 Gen James H. Doolittle Trophy
2013 James V. Forestall Award
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant, 1994
First Lieutenant, 1996
Captain, 1998
Major, 2004
Lieutenant Colonel, 2009
Colonel, 2015
(Current as of June 2016)