Colonel Patrick J Rhatigan is a Commander with many years of leadership experience. Previous to this assignment, he served in the prestigious position of Commander of the 379th Expeditionary Operations Group for one year. Here, he commanded a diverse expeditionary operations group providing airspace control, aeromedical evacuation, in-flight air refueling, combat aerial delivery, operational support airlift, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and close air support throughout US Central Command’s area of responsibility.

While serving the 379th Expeditionary Operations Group, Colonel Patrick J Rhatigan also coordinated airfield operations with his international host partner. He commanded six different airframes: B-1B, KC-135R, RC-135, E-8, C-130H and C-21.

[b]About Colonel Patrick J Rhatigan [/b]

Colonel Patrick J Rhatigan is the Commander, 19th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. Being the installation commander, Col. Rhatigan leads the "Home of C-130 Combat Airlift." He works in concert with the 314th Airlift Wing (AETC), 189th Airlift Wing (ANG), 22nd Air Force Detachment 1 (AFRC) and the United States Air Force Weapons School (ACC) in all aspects of C-130 training. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1991 with a degree in English Literature and earned his pilot wings at Williams AFB, Arizona in 1992. He has held a variety of staff positions, including Speechwriter to the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of the CSAF/SECAF Executive Action Group's Communication team at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Pentagon. Recently, Col. Rhatigan was the Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, serving in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon. Before serving his current position, he was assigned as the Commander, 379th Expeditionary Operations Group in Southwest Asia.