Senior Intelligence Officer takes command of 363rd ISR Wing

  • Published
  • By Lori A. Bultman
  • 25th Air Force
JOINT BASE LANGLEY - EUSTIS, Va. --  

Col. Jonathan C. Rice IV took command of the 363rd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing July 7 in a ceremony officiated by Maj. Gen. Mary F. O’Brien, commander, 25th Air Force. Rice received the guidon after Col. Michael Stevenson relinquished command. 
 
“I'm confident that Colonel Jon Rice is the perfect fit to take command of the 363rd, and I know he will continue the tradition of success and culture of innovation started by Col. Stevenson,” O’Brien said in her remarks. “I look forward to watching these amazing Airmen under his leadership.”
 
Upon taking command, Rice addressed the Airmen, stating he expects them to continue to advance and prosper.
 
“Fortune favors the bold," Rice said. "Now is the time not for resting on the laurels of what has been, but for driving forward to become what the Air Force needs us to be. We shall press forward along the path of audacious innovation."
 
Rice let the Airmen and their families know they are not only getting a new commander but a team, speaking of his wife, Laura.
 
"The best part of getting me is that you also get her," he said.
 
Prior to this assignment, Rice was the director of ISR, 7th Air Force, Osan Air Base, South Korea. As 7th Air Force’s Senior Intelligence Officer, he advised the commander on all ISR matters and orchestrated the air component’s ISR enterprise.
 
His command tours include the 707th ISR Group, part of ‘America’s Cryptologic Wing’ at Fort Meade, Maryland, where he led over 1,900 Airmen prosecuting diverse missions on behalf of the National Security Agency, and the 314th Training Squadron at the Defense Language Institute, a multi-service command where he trained the next generation of cryptologic language analysts.
 
He has also served as the chief of Intelligence Operations and Plans Division and chief of Intelligence Resources Division, U.S. Southern Command; and senior intelligence officer for four wings in U.S. Armed Forces Europe, Pacific Air Force, and twice while deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rice is a 1994 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy.
 
During Stevenson’s farewell remarks, he said he would miss the Airmen of the 363rd as he moves to his new assignment in Stuttgart, Germany, where he will work with the U.S. European Command Intelligence Staff as chief of Plans and Targeting.
 
Even though his work at the 363rd is complete, Stevenson’s impact will be long felt.
 
It was only two years ago that Stevenson was tasked to stand up the 363rd, and he worked tirelessly to create the incredible unit it is today, O’Brien said. “The breadth and depth of 363rd's mission is impressive,” she said.  Under Rice’s leadership, O’Brien said the 363rd would continue to grow and advance Air Force ISR capabilities. 
 
The 363rd ISR Wing’s creation addressed a critical challenge, renewing focus on critical intelligence skills ISR Airmen are traditionally known for, specifically, targeting expertise and air and air defense analytics. Today, the 363rd ISRW is the U.S. Air Force’s premier precision targeting production, special operations ISR and full-spectrum analytical unit supporting the tactical warfighter and enabling combat power in air, space and cyberspace.