Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Walker is the Chief of Staff, Kentucky Air National Guard and Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff, Joint Force Headquarters Kentucky National Guard. He serves as the principal advisor to The Adjutant General for the coordination of policy, guidance, and direction of the Commonwealth's 8,000 Army and Air Guardsmen. General Walker is dual-hatted as the Director of the Office of Complex Investigations, National Guard Bureau. The Directorate is responsible for conducting administrative investigations into allegations of sexual assault when law enforcement entities, such as military criminal investigative organizations or civilian law enforcement agencies, have declined or do not have jurisdiction to investigate and a National Guard nexus has been identified. He is also a special advisor to the Deputy Judge Advocate General of the United States Air Force.
General Walker received his commission as a second lieutenant through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at Auburn University in December 1990. He served seven years on active duty primarily in personnel and communications (now cyber) positions including a joint assignment with the United States Military Entrance Processing Command. He attended law school at night during his final active duty assignment and separated in 1998 to pursue a civilian legal career. In 2004, he resumed military service in the Air Force Reserve as a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps. In 2005, General Walker joined the Kentucky Air National Guard as Staff Judge Advocate for the 123d Airlift Wing. During his time as a JAG, General Walker was an instructor on the cadre of the Contemporary Base Issues (CBI) Course for six years, held the national level additional duty billet as CBI Director from 2014-2016, and received the 2015 Major General Robert I. Gruber Excellence in Teaching Award. His operational law experience includes two tours as an operations floor JAG in the Combined Air Operations Center at the 601st Air Operations Center, Tyndall AFB, Florida, in support of Operation Noble Eagle. Prior to his current positions, the General served as the State Staff Judge Advocate for the Kentucky National Guard.
EDUCATION
1990 Bachelor of Science in Aviation Management, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.
1994 Master of Science in Human Resource Management, Troy State University, Troy, Ala.
1999 Juris Doctor, Cum Laude, The John Marshall Law School, Chicago Ill.
2005 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
2009 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2013 Air War College, by correspondence
2019 Senior Leader Orientation Course (SLOC); Joint Base Andrews, Md. & Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 1991 - March 1992, Squadron Section Commander, 355th Aircraft Generation Squadron, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
2. April 1992 - December 1992, Squadron Section Commander, 355th Mission Support Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
3. December 1992 - June 1994, Executive Officer, 355th Mission Support Group, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
4. July 1994 - September 1998, Operations Officer, Chicago Military Entrance Processing Station, Des Plaines, Ill.
5. January 2004 - October 2005, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, 455th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
6. October 2005 - May 2013, Staff Judge Advocate, 123d Airlift Wing, Kentucky Air National Guard Base, Louisville, Ky. (November 2006 - January 2007 and November 2007 - January 2008, Judge Advocate General, 601st Air Operations Center, NORAD/NORTHCOM, CAOC, Tyndall AFB, Fla.)
7. May 2013 - October 2017, State Staff Judge Advocate, JFHQ Kentucky National Guard, Boone National Guard Center, Ky.
8. October 2017 - Present, Present, Chief of Staff-Air, JFHQ Kentucky National Guard, Boone National Guard Center, Ky.; dual-hatted, February 2021 - Present, Director, Office of Complex Investigations, Arlington, Va.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
CIVILIAN OCCUPATION
United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2015 Major General Robert I. Gruber Excellence in Teaching Award
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 4, 1991
First Lieutenant May 4, 1993
Captain May 4, 1995
Major Oct. 1, 2005
Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 5, 2009
Colonel Jan. 24, 2014
Brigadier General Oct. 25, 2017
(Current as of June 2021)