Colonel COLONEL BILLY E. POPE, JR.

Colonel Billy E. Pope, Jr. is the Director of Cyberspace Operations and Warfighting Communications, and Chief Information Officer, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. He leads a staff and two subordinate units responsible for delivering enterprise-level information technology and expeditionary programs to increase the U.S. Air Force's ability to provide combat forces to combatant commanders. Col Pope provides the strategic vision, policy, guidance and advocacy to drive the engineering and integration to build, extend, operate, secure and defend the Air Force portion of the Department of War’s global network. He is responsible for organizing, training and equipping Airmen to deliver cyberspace capabilities and communications for the command’s 35 wings, 1,150 aircraft and 263 worldwide operating locations with 163,155 total force military personnel.

Pope received his commission from the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Redlands in June 2001. His career has focused on delivering communications and cyber capabilities in defense of American priorities. His depth of expertise includes strategic communications, cyberspace strategy, offensive and defensive cyber operations, and joint special operations communications. Col Pope has commanded at the wing, group, and squadron levels. He has also held positions at service headquarters, joint combatant command, major command, and installation levels within the continental United States and abroad.

Col. Pope is married to Amanda Pope of Long Beach, CA. They have two children, Abbey and Tyler.

2001 Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, University of Redlands, CA

2006 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL

2007 United States Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School, Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA

2007 Advanced Communications Officer Course, MCB Quantico, VA

2007 Master of Human Relations, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK

2009 Marine Command and Staff College with Distinction, by correspondence

2011 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala, by correspondence

2013 Master of Public Administration, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

2014 Master of Military Strategy, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, AL

2019 Master of Science in Military Strategy, National War College, Fort McNair, Washington, DC

ASSIGNMENTS

1. July 2001 - October 2003, Deputy Chief of Network Operations, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
2. October 2003 - March 2005, Chief of Mission Systems Support, Computer Systems Squadron, United States Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
3. March 2005 - May 2006, Chief, Director’s Action Group, Communications and Information Directorate, United States Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany
4. May 2006 - June 2006, Student, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL
5. June 2006 - May 2007, Student, United States Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School, Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA
6. May 2007 - March 2010, Command Information Assurance Manager and Deputy Chief of Current Operations, Communications Directorate, Special Operations Command-Central, MacDill AFB, FL
7. March 2010 - May 2011, Officer in Charge, Commander’s Communications Team, United States Central Command, MacDill AFB, FL
8. May 2011 - July 2012, Ops Flight Commander, 6th Communications Squadron, MacDill AFB, FL
9. July 2012 - June 2013, Air Force Fellow and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Scholar, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA
10. June 2013 - June 2014, Student, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, AL
11. June 2014 - July 2016, Commander, 81st Communications Squadron, Keesler AFB, MS
12. July 2016 - May 2017, Branch Chief, Cyber Strategy, Office of the Air Force Chief of Information, Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, DC
13. May 2017 - June 2018, Senior Executive Officer to the Air Force CIO, Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, DC
14. June 2018 - July 2019, Research Fellow, National War College, Fort McNair, Washington, DC
15. July 2019 - June 2021, Chief, Future Operations Division, Headquarters United States Cyber Command, Fort Meade, MD
16. June 2021 - March 2023, Commander, 690th Cyberspace Operations Group, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, TX
17. March 2023 – June 2025, Commander, 81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB, MS
18. June 2025 – June 2026, Director, Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Executive Action Group, Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, DC
19. June 2026 – Present, Director of Cyberspace Operations and Warfighting Communications, and Chief Information Officer, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

2008 United States Central Command Communications and Information Officer of the Year

2009 United States Central Command Communications and Information Officer of the Year

2013 Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Public Service, Harvard University

2014 Air Force Association Award for Best SAASS Thesis, Cyberspace and Technology

2016 Air Education and Training Command Information Dominance Field Grade Officer of the Year

2019 Distinguished Graduate and NDU President’s Writing Award, National War College

PUBLICATIONS

Cyber Power: A Personal Theory of Opportunity, Leverage, and Power, The Strategy Bridge, May 2014

Structural Causes & Cyber Effects: Why International Order is Inevitable in Cyberspace, Strategic Studies

Quarterly, AU Press, Dec. 2014

Structural Causes & Cyber Effects: A Response to Our Critics, Strategic Studies Quarterly, AU Press, Aug 2015

A Better State of War: Surmounting the Ethical Cliff in Cyber Warfare, The Drew Papers, AU Press, Feb. 2019

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

Second Lieutenant July 13, 2001

First Lieutenant July 13, 2003

Captain July 13, 2005

Major Sept. 1, 2011

Lieutenant Colonel Jan. 1, 2016

Colonel Feb. 1, 2020

(Current as of June 2026)