Brigadier General Heather L. Pringle is the Commander, 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, which includes JBSA-Randolph, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, JBSA-Lackland, and JBSA-Camp Bullis. The 8,000-person 502 ABW executes 49 installation support functions that bolsters the largest Joint Base in the DoD consisting of 266 Mission Partners, more than 80,000 full-time personnel and a local community of more than 250,000 retirees. The 502nd ABW also manages and provides oversight for $4.5 billion in directed Base Closure and Realignment and other major projects and a physical plant worth more than $37 billion.
General Pringle has experience in science and technology development, acquisition program management and program and budget analysis. In addition, she promoted international relationships, interoperable capabilities and sustained engagement with partners in the Middle East and Asia during her tenure as commander of the 555th International Materiel Squadron and while serving in Afghanistan as the Political Advisor’s Staff Director for the International Security Assistance Forces. As Vice Commander of 377th Air Base Wing, she assisted in commanding 2,500 personnel serving the Air Force nuclear enterprise and providing mission support to 23,000 military and civilian employees at Kirtland Air Force Base, NM.
General Pringle has served as the Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, directly supporting him in all official duties and engagements with Congress, Allies, the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands and other government agencies. She assessed competing demands across a full spectrum of Air Force and joint service issues and integrated strategic priorities to support his leadership of the 660,000 personnel serving in the United States Air Force.
EDUCATION
1991 Bachelor of Science, Human Factors, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO
1992 Master of Arts, Engineering Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
2000 Doctorate of Philosophy, Engineering Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
2005 Distinguished Graduate, Master of Science, Military Operational Art and Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
2011 Distinguished Graduate, Master of Science, National Security Strategy, National War College, Fort McNair, MD
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1991 - August 1992, Student, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL
2. September 1992 - July 1994, Operations and Control Integration Manager, Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System Program, Electronic Systems Command, Hanscom AFB, MA
3. August 1994 - June 1995, Executive Officer, 66th Air Base Wing, Electronic Systems Command, Hanscom AFB, MA
4. June 1995 - July 1997, Instructor/Personnel Officer, Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Department, U.S. Air Force Academy, CO
5. August 1997 - May 2000, Student, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL
6. June 2000 - July 2003, Assistant Professor/Executive Officer, then Assoc. Prof/Human Factors Track Chief, Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Department, U.S. Air Force Academy, CO
7. July 2003 - July 2005, Deputy, later, Chief, Warfighter Training Research Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory, Mesa, AZ
8. July 2005 - June 2006, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, AL
9. June 2006 - July 2007, Israel Country Director/European Command Branch Chief, Mideast/Africa Division, Secretary of the Air Force International Affairs, Rosslyn, VA
10. August 2007 - February 2008, Staff Director, Political Advisor’s Office, Headquarters, International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan
11. March 2008 - August 2008, Iraq Country Director/Assistant Division Chief, Mideast/Africa Division, Secretary of the Air Force International Affairs, Rosslyn, VA
12. August 2008 - July 2010, Commander, 555th International Materiel Squadron, Air Force Security Assistance Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
13. August 2010 - June 2011, Student, National War College, Fort McNair, MD
14. July 2011 - May 2013, Analysis Branch Chief, later, Deputy Chief, Program and Budget Analysis Division, Joint Staff J-8, Washington DC
15. May 2013 - May 2014, Vice Commander, 377th Air Base Wing, Kirtland AFB, NM
16. May 2014 – August 2016, Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Washington DC
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters
PROMOTIONS
Second Lieutenant May 29, 1991
First Lieutenant May 29, 1993
Captain May 29, 1995
Major March 1, 2002
Lieutenant Colonel December 1, 2006
Colonel September 1, 2011
Brigadier General August 5, 2016
(Current as of August 2016)