Lt. Col. Rena Sandgren is the Commander of the 627th Force Support Squadron. She is triple-hatted, also serving as the Deputy Director Human Resources Directorate, and the Deputy Director Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation Directorate at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. She orchestrates and executes join installation support functions for 155,000 active-duty Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, civilians, retirees, and their family members for the Department of Defense’s premier joint power projection platform installation. In addition to her joint mission, Lt. Col. Sandgren provides mission-ready Airmen through Prime Readiness and Personnel Support for Contingency Operations for worldwide military operations through sustained expeditionary and joint war fighting capabilities.
Lt. Col. Sandgren earned her commission through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Detachment 150, University of Florida, in December of 2005 and completed Services Officer training in October 2006. She has served in a variety of base and staff-level assignments and is an Air University Fellow. Prior to her current assignment, Lt. Col. Sandgren served as the Executive Officer to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, Headquarters United States Air Force, Pentagon, Washington District of Columbia.
EDUCATION
2005 Bachelor of Arts, Linguistics, Cum Laude, University of Florida
2006 Air and Space Basic Course, Residence, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2006 Services Basic Course 101, Residence, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
2010 Squadron Officer School, Residence, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2010 Masters of Science, Exercise Science, California University of Pennsylvania
2017 Air Command and Staff College, Residence, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2020 Mindfulness Facilitation, Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles
ASSIGNMENTS
1. February 2006 - September 2007, Lodging Officer in Charge, 62nd Services Squadron, McChord Air Force Base (AFB), Wash.
2. September 2007 - June 2009, Executive Officer, 62nd Mission Support Group, McChord AFB, Wash.
(May 2008 - September 2008, Executive Officer, 64th Air Expeditionary Group, Eskan Village, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
3. June 2009 - January 2010, Chief, Military Personnel, 62nd Force Support Squadron (FSS), McChord AFB, Wash.
4. January 2010 - July 2010, Manpower & Personnel Flight Commander, 62 FSS, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
5. August 2010 - July 2011, Recruiting Flight Commander, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Detachment 910, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
6. August 2011 - July 2012, Operations Flight Commander, AFROTC Detachment 910, University of Washington
7. May 2012 - July 2014, Director of Support, AFROTC Northwest Region, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado
(August 2012 - April 2013, Air Force Desk Officer, Personnel Section, US Central Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.)
8. August 2014 - December 2015, Operations Officer, 374th Force Support Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan
(January 16 - June 16, Deputy Commander, 386th Expeditionary FSS, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait)
9. July 2016 - May 2017, Student, Air Command Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
10. Jun 2017 - Sep 2018, Flight Commander, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
11. October 2018 - September 2021, Career Intermission Program, Seattle, Wash.
12. October 2021 - May 2023, Deputy Chief, Budget Development Branch, Office of Manpower, Personnel, and Services, Headquarters Air Force, Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
12. June 2023 - Present, Commander, 627th Force Support Squadron, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
National Defense Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant December 16, 2005
First Lieutenant December 24, 2007
Captain December 24, 2009
Major March 1, 2016
Lieutenant Colonel November 1, 2023
(Current as of February 2024)