Lt. Col. Joshua Clifford is the Commander, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. He ensures the readiness of 627 active duty and civilian personnel to provide unrivaled generation and maintenance support for 40 C-17 aircraft, ensuring worldwide combat airlift, humanitarian, and airdrop capabilities. The 62d AMXS also generates airpower to meet the Air Force’s Prime Nuclear Airlift Force requirements and provides the primary active-duty airlift for Operation Deep Freeze, supporting the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic research.
Lt. Col. Clifford is a 2008 graduate from the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. As a maintenance officer he has worked on numerous airframes to include the MC-130P, MC-130H, MC-130J, C-130H/J, AC-130U, CV-22, U-2, C-17, C-5, and MQ-9 aircraft. Additionally, he prepared Poland and EUCOM against the Russian threat through Security Cooperation/Assistance and Foreign Military Sales at the US Embassy Warsaw. This included setting the theater for the first Remotely Piloted Aircraft Operations and selling Poland over $500M in AIM-120s, AIM-9X, and JASSM-ERs. He successfully completed a 365-day deployment to command the 386 Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron at Ali Al Salem, Kuwait in support of operation INHERENT RESOLVE. Prior to his current position, Lt. Col. Clifford was the Chief, ACE Combat Support Branch, A4 Directorate of Logistics, Engineering & Force Protection, Pacific Air Forces, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
As the Chief PACAF A4 Agile Combat Employment Combat Support Branch, he led Set the Theater efforts & the USAF's ACE FY24/25 POM process securing a billion dollars in funding for pre-positioned equipment, storage, sustainment, airfield restoration, and base resiliency across numerous austere locations in the Pacific. Key efforts towards deterrence and building warfighter advantage against the DoD’s pacing strategic threat.
EDUCATION
2008 Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Management, United States Air Force Academy, Colo.
2008 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2012 Master of Arts, International Relations, University of Oklahoma
2015 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2020 Air Command and Staff College, Non-Residence
ASSIGNMENTS
August 2008-July 2009, Fabrication Flight Commander, 1st Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
August 2009-February 2010, Aerospace Ground Equipment Flight Commander, 1st Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
February 2010-February 2011, Assistant Aircraft Maintenance Unit OIC, 801st Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla. (June 2010-October 2010, Aircraft Maintenance Unit OIC, 8th Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron, Kandahar Afghanistan)
February 2011-June 2012, Aircraft Maintenance Flight Commander, 1st Special Operations Maintenance Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
June 2012-July 2013, Aircraft Maintenance Unit OIC, 5th Reconnaissance Squadron, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea
August 2013-June 2014, Maintenance Operations Flight OIC, 353rd Special Operations Maintenance Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan
June 2014-Aug 2015, OIC, MC-130 Aircraft Maintenance Unit, 353rd SOMS, Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan
Aug 2015-July 2017, Security Assistance Officer, Office of Defense Cooperation at US Embassy Warsaw, Poland. EUCOM J5
Jul 2017-Aug 2019, Director of Operations, 735th Air Mobility Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
Aug 2019-May 2020, Maintenance Operations Officer, 15th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
May 2020-Jun 2021, Commander, 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, Ali Al Salem, Kuwait
Jun 2021-Jun 2022, Deputy Chief Maintenance Management, A4 Directorate of Logistics, Engineering & Force Protection, Pacific Air Forces, JBPHH, Hawaii
Jun 2022-Jun 2023, Chief, ACE Combat Support Branch, A4 Directorate of Logistics, Engineering & Force Protection, Pacific Air Forces, JBPHH, Hawaii
Jun 2023 - Present, Commander, 62d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 28, 2008
First Lieutenant May 28, 2010
Captain May 28, 2012
Major January 1, 2018
Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 2023
(Current as of October 2023)