Colonel Robert C. Gellner

Colonel Robert C. Gellner is the Commander of the 183d Wing, Illinois Air National Guard, Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, Springfield, Illinois.  His responsibilities include developing and coordinating long-range plans for the Air and Space Operations Group in addition to the aircraft engine Centralized Repair Facility.  He oversees all wing policies and programs to include an approximate $26 million budget affecting more than 900 wing members.

Colonel Gellner received his commission in the United States Air Force from Detachment 915 at West Virginia University.  He is a joint qualified, total force officer with previous field maintenance experiences on the F-15 C/D, F-16 C/D, E-3 B/C, C-5M, and C-17A aircraft.  He has commanded four times at the squadron and group level, he has deployed three times, and he has served in four staff assignments at the Pentagon. Prior to this assignment, Colonel Gellner served as the Chief, Strategic Assessments, Futures, and Initiatives (J5) for the National Guard Bureau in Washington, DC.

EDUCATION
1998 Bachelors of Arts, Regents, West Virginia University, Morgantown, W. Va.
2003 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2003 Air Force Space Command “Vigilant Look”
2006 Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Orientation, Tokyo, Japan
2007 Master of Arts, Economics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.
2014 Air Command and Staff College, Correspondence
2016 Joint Combined Warfighter School, Joint Forces Staff College, Va.
2016 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2018 National Security Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Mass.
2021 Commanders’ Professional Development Courses, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2022 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1998 – March 1999, Assistant Sortie Generation Flight Commander, 95th Fighter Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.
2. April 1999 – March 2000, Avionics Flight Commander, 325th Maintenance Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
3. April 2000 – February 2001, Quality Assurance Flight Commander, 325th Logistics Group, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
4. February 2001 – February 2002, Military Chief, Services Section, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker AFB, Okla.
5. February 2002 – July 2002, Military Chief, E-3 Production Section, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker AFB, Okla.
6. August 2002 – July 2003, Maintenance Flight Commander, 552nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
7. August. 2003 – January 2004, Assistant Aircraft Maintenance Unit Officer-in-Charge, 552nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
8. February 2004 – June 2005, Aircraft Maintenance Unit Officer-in-Charge, 552nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
9. June 2005 – June 2006, Assistant Maintenance Operations Officer, 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan
10. June 2006 – September 2007, Maintenance Operations Officer, 18th Maintenance Operations Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan
11. September 2007 – August 2009, Individual Ready Reserve
12. August 2009 – December 2010, Maintenance Operations Officer, 512th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Dover AFB, Del.
13. December 2010 – August 2011, Commander, 712th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Dover AFB, Del.
14. November 2010 – August 2011, Weapons System Liaison, Air Force Weapons System Sustainment Office, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
15. August 2011 – June 2013, Commander, 144th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Fresno Air National Guard Base, Calif.
16. June 2013 – December 2013, Commander, 140th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Buckley AFB, Colo.
17. December 2013 – April 2015, Maintenance Officer, 144th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Fresno Air National Guard Base, Calif.
18. October 2014 – April 2015, Action Officer, National Guard Bureau Joint Actions Control Office, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
19. April 2015 – July 2017, Strategic Planner, Chief’s Action Group, Office of the Chief, National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
20. July 2017 – June 2018, National Security Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Mass.
21. July 2018 – October 2019, Chief, Futures Branch, Strategy, Plans, Policy, and International Affairs (J5), National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. (Joint)
22. October 2019 – June 2021, Commander, 154th Maintenance Group, Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii
23. June 2021 – July 2021, Chief, Strategic Assessments, Futures, and Initiates, National Guard Bureau, Joint Base Andrews, Md.
24. July 2021 – Present, Commander, 183d Wing, Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, Springfield, Ill.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 2015 – July 2017, Strategic Planner, Chief’s Action Group, Office of the Chief, National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant colonel
2. July 2018 – October 2019, Chief, Futures Branch, Strategy, Plans, Policy, and International Affairs (J5), National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant colonel and colonel

 
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
 
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 16, 1998
First Lieutenant June 16, 2000
Captain June 16, 2002
Major June 16, 2009
Lieutenant Colonel September 15, 2015
Colonel July 31, 2019

(Current as of February 2022)