Col Brandon Sokora is the Deputy Joint Base Commander and Commander, 627th Air Base Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. As Deputy Joint Base Commander, he is responsible with the Joint Base Commander for an organization comprised of 4,475 military and civilian personnel that supports more than 350 units and an installation population of 44,209 military, 15,240 civilian and contract employees, and 54,465 family members within 414,000 acres. Along with the Joint Base Commander, he manages an annual budget of $438 million and is responsible for installation management, facility maintenance and construction, environmental protection, housing, emergency management, communication systems, security and law enforcement, fire protection, dining, lodging, recreational services, human resources management, supply and vehicle fleet management. As Commander, 627th Air Base Group, he is responsible for organizing, training and equipping more than 800 Airmen in five squadrons, the Chaplain's Corps and Equal Opportunity offices; executing installation support at home station and providing Expeditionary Combat Support to military operations worldwide.
Col Sokora received his commissioned in 2000 from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has commanded twice at the squadron level, at Royal Air Force Lakenheath and Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England. In addition, he has also served in numerous leadership positions in a variety of base-level civil engineer assignments across three Combatant Commands with multiple deployments including Joint and Combined Task Forces staffs. He has also served twice on the Headquarters Air Force staff. Prior to his current position, he served as the Director of Installations, 9th Air Force (Air Forces Central), Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.
EDUCATION
2000 Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2001 Aerospace Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2006 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2010 Masters of Science in Global Leadership, University of San Diego, San Diego, Calif.
2011 Air Command and Staff College (correspondence), Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2021 Masters of Strategic Studies, Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 2000 - June 2001, Assistant Intercollegiate Football Coach, U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
2. July 2001 - July 2003, Chief of Simplified Acquisitions Base Engineering Requirements, Chief of Engineering Contracts, 14th Civil Engineer Squadron, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
3. July 2003 - August 2004, Deputy, Plans and Programs, 51st Civil Engineer Squadron, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea
4. September 2004 - August 2006, Chief of Maintenance Engineering, 48th Civil Engineer Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England (deployed April 2005 - September 2005, Reconstruction Officer, Combined Joint Engineer Directorate, Camp Eggers, Kabul, Afghanistan)
5. September 2006 – August 2010, Project Engineer, Readiness Flight Commander, Engineering Flight Commander, 820th RED HORSE Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nev. (deployed April 2007 - September 2007 and October 2008 - April 2009, Project Engineer, Director of Operations 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron, Joint Base Balad, Iraq)
6. September 2010 - September 2013, Operations Flight Commander, 7th Civil Engineer Squadron, Dyess AFB, Texas (deployed November 2010 - May 2011, Chief of Installations, 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force - Iraq, Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq
7. October 2013 - June 2015, Contingency Operations Program Manager, Readiness Division, Directorate of Civil Engineers, Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics, Engineering & Force Protection, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
8. July 2015 - June 2017, Commander, 100th Civil Engineer Squadron, Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England
9. June 2017 – July 2019, Commander, 48th Civil Engineer Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England
10. August 2019 – July 2020, Deputy Chair, Installation Support Panel, Resources Division, Directorate of Resources Integration, Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics, Engineering & Force Protection, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
11. August 2020 – June 2021, Student, United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.
12. June 2021 – June 2023, Director of Installations, Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central), Shaw AFB, S.C.
13. July 2023 – Present, Deputy Joint Base Commander and Commander, 627th Air Base Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with six oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Meritorious Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with four oak leaf clusters
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 31, 2000
First Lieutenant May 31, 2002
Captain May 31, 2004
Major February 1, 2010
Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 2015
Colonel June 1, 2021
(Current as of July 2023)