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Lt Col Mason Gordon

Operations Officer, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies, AS200 Instructor

Lt Col Mason Gordon
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+1 574-631-4674
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Biography

Lt Col Mason Gordon is an Instructor and the Operations Officer, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Northeast Region Detachment 225, University of Notre Dame, Indiana. He oversees cadre and all detachment training operations, supervising the recruitment, education, training, evaluation, and preparation of the detachment’s 90 cadets in becoming commissioned officers in the active-duty United States Air and Space Forces.

The colonel entered the Air Force in May 2010 through the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He earned his pilot wings from the 14th Flying Training Squadron, Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. For most of his career, he has flown the RC 135S/U/V/W aircraft variants, deploying 10 times in support of Contingency Operations, including OPERATIONS INHERENT RESOLVE and FREEDOM’S SENTINEL, as well as flying Sensitive Reconnaissance Operations missions across the globe. He has served as a Formal Training Unit Instructor and Evaluator Pilot and as an executive officer at the wing and group levels. Additionally, he was assigned to Tel Aviv, Israel for the Olmsted Scholar Program, a Department of War career broadening and leadership development program, in which he fully immersed in the local culture along with his family and completed graduate studies conducted in the host nation’s Hebrew language at Tel Aviv University.

Prior to his current position, the colonel was the Chief of Safety, 55th Wing, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. 

Education

  • 2010 Bachelor of Science, Physics, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. 
  • 2010 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. 
  • 2016 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 
  • 2016 Master of Arts, Philosophy, Holy Apostles College and Seminary, Cromwell, Conn. 
  • 2021 Associate of Arts, Hebrew, Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, Calif. 
  • 2022 Master of Arts, Diplomacy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel 
  • 2023 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence 

Assignments

  1. January 2011 – April 2012, Student Pilot, 14th Flying Training Squadron, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.  
  2. April 2012 – October 2012, Student Pilot, 338th Combat Training Squadron, Offutt AFB, Neb.
  3. October 2012 – August 2015, Pilot, Standardization and Evaluations Liaison Officer, 45th Reconnaissance Squadron, Offutt AFB, Neb.
  4. August 2015 – July 2018, Flight Commander, Instructor Pilot, Operations Group Executive Officer, 38th RS, Offutt AFB, Neb.
  5. July 2018 – June 2020, Formal Training Unit Evaluator Pilot, Wing Executive Officer, 338th CTS, Offutt AFB, Neb.
  6. June 2020 – July 2021, Hebrew Language Student, 311th Training Squadron, Presidio of Monterey, Calif.
  7. July 2021 – July 2023, Olmsted Scholar, Tel Aviv, Israel
  8. July 2023 – June 2024, Pilot Program Manager, Air Combat Command Training Support Squadron Detachment 10, Offutt AFB, Neb.
  9. June 2024 – December 2024, Director of Operations, 338th CTS, Offutt AFB, Neb.
  10. December 2024 – June 2026, Chief of Safety, 55th Wing, Offutt AFB, Neb.
  11. July 2026 – present, Instructor, Operations Officer, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Northeast Region Detachment 225, University of Notre Dame, Ind. 

Flight Information

  • Rating: senior pilot
  • Flight hours:  more than 2,400, including 541 combat hours 
  • Aircraft flown: T-6A, T-1A, RC-135S/U/V/W, WC-135, TC-135

Major Awards and Decorations

  • Meritorious Service Medal
  • Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
  • Aerial Achievement Medal
  • Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster 

Other Achievements

  • 2012 Academic Award, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training 
  • 2015 Distinguished Graduate, RC-135 Aircraft Commander Qualification Training 
  • 2016 Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officer School 
  • 2021 Scholar, George and Carol Olmsted Foundation Scholar Program 

Effective Dates of Promotion

  • Second Lieutenant – May 26, 2010 
  • First Lieutenant – May 26, 2012 
  • Captain – May 26, 2014 
  • Major – December 1, 2019 
  • Lieutenant Colonel – December 1, 2024