Brig. Gen. Christopher Walker is the Assistant Adjutant General and Commander of the West Virginia Air National Guard. The West Virginia Air National Guard has over 2,100 members and consists of two flying units— the 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston, WV, and the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, WV. As the Assistant Adjutant General-Air and Commander, he provides command and control over all Air National Guard forces assigned to the state and is the principal advisor to the Adjutant General on all matters related to the Air National Guard (ANG).
Born in New York City, NY, General Walker began his Air Force career as a 1988 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. After Undergraduate Navigator Training at Mather AFB in 1989, he served as a C-130 navigator in weather reconnaissance and tactical airlift squadrons throughout the world, including an assignment as an airdrop planner in the Balkans CAOC in Vicenza, Italy and flying in various contingencies including Operations Provide Promise, Provide Comfort, and Provide Relief.
In 1997, General Walker left active duty to join the ANG and serve as a C-130H3 evaluator navigator, and has commanded at the squadron and group level. He served in various operations and contingencies such at OEF, OIF, Joint Guard/Joint Forge, and Volant Oak/Coronet Oak. He has served as a special assistant to the Director of Mobility Forces (DIRMOBFOR) at the 609th CAOC at Al Udied AB, Qatar, and he also served as civil aviation advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation with the Coalition Provisional Authority. He has served as the ANG Crisis Action Team Director, Acting Air Mobility Division Chief at the 609th CAOC, and ANG Deputy Director of Air, Space, and Information Operations. General Walker has also served as DIRMOBFOR in two major JCS-directed exercises in Korea. In 2019, he served as Dual-Status Commander of Joint Task Force- World Scout Jamboree (JTF-WSJ), commanding approximately 1000 soldiers, airmen, sailors, and DoD civilians providing security, logistics, and medical assistance to over 45,000 scouts and support staff from over 150 countries.
General Walker is a Master Navigator with over 5200 hours in WC-130 and C-130E/H/H3 aircraft, including over 400 combat and combat support hours.
EDUCATION
1988 Bachelor of Science in General Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1990 Air Ground Operations School, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2004 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2009 Air and Space Operations Center School: Air Mobility Operations Course, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2010 Advanced Joint PME, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2012 Director of Mobility Forces Course, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2013 Reserve Component National Security Course, National Defense University, D.C.
2018 Continuous Process Improvement for Executives (CPIE), Cincinnati, Ohio
2018 Dual Status Commanders Course, USNORTHCOM, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2018 Joint Task Force Commanders Course, USNORTHCOM, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2018 Senior Leader Orientation Course (SLOC); Joint Base Andrews, Md. & Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
2020 Enterprise Perspective Seminar (EPS), Capitol Hill Club, Washington, DC
2020 Middle East and South Asia Seminar, Alan L. Freed Associates, Washington D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1988 - March 1989, Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training, Mather AFB, Calif.
2. March 1989 - April 1989, C-130 Navigator IQT, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
3. April 1989 - May 1991, Navigator and PA officer, 53rd Weather Reconnaisance Sq, Keesler AFB, Miss.
4. May 1991 - June 1991, C-130 Navigator MQT, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
5. June 1991 - January 1995, Lead Navigator and Instructor Navigator, 50th AS, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
6. January 1995 - March 1997, Instructor Navigator and Chief of Training, 36th AS, Yokota AB, Japan
7. April 1997 - September 1997, Instructor Navigator, 167th AS, Martinsburg ANGB, W.Va.
8. September 1997 - February 1999, Chief Current Operations, 167th OG, Martinsburg ANGB, W.Va.
9. February 1999 - November 2002, Evaluator Navigator, 167th AS, Martinsburg ANGB, W.Va.
10. November 2002 - April 2006, Commander, 167th OSS, Martinsburg ANGB, W.Va.
11. August 2003 - August 2004, Civil Aviation Advisor to Iraqi Ministry of Transportation, Coalition Provisional Authority/Iraq Reconstruction Management Office, Baghdad, Iraq
12. April 2006 - September 2008, ANG Crisis Action Team Director, ANGRC, Andrews AFB, Md.
13. October 2008 - November 2011, Chief Air Mobility Division, Bradley ANGB, Conn.
14. November 2011 - January 2013, Deputy Commander and Commander, 103rd Air and Space Operations Group, Bradley ANGB, Conn.
15. January 2013 - March 2014, Chief, A3 Mobility Operations Division, ANGRC, Joint Base Andrews, Md.
16. March 2014 - August 2014, NGB Acting Deputy Director, Air, Space and Cyber Operations, ANGRC, Joint Base Andrews, Md.
17. August 2014 - December 2016, Chief, NGB Property and Fiscal Operations Division, NG-J8, National Guard Bureau, Arlington, Va.
18. December 2016 - February 2019, Chief of Staff, Charleston, WV
19. February 2019 - February 2021, Assistant Adjutant General, Charleston, WV; dual-hatted, August 2018 - July 2020, Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Manpower and Reserve Affairs (SAF/MR), Washington, DC
20. February 2021 - Present, Assistant Adjutant General, WV ANG , , W.Va.; dual-hatted, February 2021 - Present, ANG Assistant to SAF/MR for Diversity and Inclusion, NGB, Pentagon, Va.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 2003 - August 2004, Civil Aviation Advisor to Iraqi Ministry of Transportation, Coalition Provisional Authority/Iraq Reconstruction Management Office, Baghdad, Iraq as a Major
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
AF Outstanding Unit Award with Valor and three oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal with six oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with oak leaf cluster
Kosovo Campaign Medal
Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Armed Forces Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Humanitarian Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Level III Joint Qualified Officer
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 1, 1988
First Lieutenant June 1, 1990
Captain June 1, 1992
Major Oct. 1, 1999
Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 3, 2004
Colonel Feb. 19, 2010
Brigadier General Sept. 28, 2017
(Current as of August 2021)