COLONEL EDWARD T. (TADD) SHOLTIS
Colonel Tadd Sholtis is the director of public affairs for Air Combat Command, which primarily organizes, trains, equips, and maintains the Air Force's fighter, command-and-control, personnel recovery and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance forces. The command operates more than 1,300 aircraft, 34 wings, 19 bases, and has more than 70 worldwide operating locations with 94,000 active-duty and civilian personnel.
During the past two decades, Colonel Sholtis has served as the personal public affairs officer for the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan; the chief of the Air Force press desk at the Pentagon; and a communication planner and adviser for NATO, the Coalition Provisional Authority and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Most recently, he served as the director of public affairs for U.S. Air Forces Central Command in Qatar.
EDUCATION
1993 Bachelor of Science degree, English, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (distinguished graduate)
1994 Master of Arts degree, English, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa.
2007 Master of Science degree, Strategic Intelligence, National Defense Intelligence College, Washington, D.C.
2011 Doctor of Philosophy degree, Military Strategy, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1993 - August 1994, student, Air Force Institute of Technology Civilian Institutions Program and U.S. Air Force Academy Graduate Studies Program, the Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa.
2. August 1994 - June 1996, chief of community relations, Headquarters, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
3. June 1996 - July 1999, chief of public affairs and then chief of wing exercises and evaluations, 71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB, Okla.
4. July 1999 - June 2002, chief of public affairs, 60th Air Mobility Wing, Travis AFB, Calif.
5. June 2002 - June 2005, chief of public affairs, Headquarters, 16th Air Force, Aviano Air Base, Italy (deployed April - August 2004 as strategic communication plans officer, Coalition Provisional Authority and U.S. Embassy, Baghdad, Iraq)
6. June 2005 - August 2006, chief of manpower, organization and readiness, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.
7. August 2006 - July 2007, student, National Defense Intelligence College, Washington, D.C.
8. July 2007 - July 2008, student, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
9. July 2008 - July 2009, deputy director of executive issues team and then chief of the Air Force press desk, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.
10. July 2009 - August 2010, personal public affairs officer to the commander, International Security Assistance Force, Kabul, Afghanistan
11. August 2010 - June 2011, Air University Lorenz fellow, Washington D.C.
12. June 2011 - May 2014, deputy director of public affairs, Headquarters, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
13. May 2014 - May 2015, director of public affairs, Headquarters, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
14. May 2015 - present, director of public affairs, Headquarters, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
PUBLICATIONS
Military Strategy as Public Discourse: America's War in Afghanistan (Routledge, 2014)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Accredited in Public Relations, Public Relations Society of America
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Bronze Star
Meritorious Service Medal (two oak leaf clusters)
Joint Service Commendation Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 2, 1993
First Lieutenant June 2, 1995
Captain June 2, 1997
Major August 1, 2003
Lieutenant Colonel August 1, 2008
Colonel December 1, 2014
(Current as of July 2015)