Colonel Creighton A. Mullins Colonel Creighton A. Mullins is the Commander, Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick Space Force Base, Fla. AFTAC operates and maintains the United States Atomic Energy Detection System to monitor foreign compliance with various treaties limiting nuclear testing. The focus of AFTAC’s more than 1,100 professionals is to detect special events in the atmosphere, underwater, underground, and in space to determine if they are nuclear and to report them to U.S. senior decision makers. Colonel Mullins earned his commission in 2002 from the United States Air Force Academy. As a career intelligence officer, he has conducted Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels in the Air Force, Special Operations, and other government agencies. Colonel Mullins has led intelligence operations across multiple echelons and has deployed numerous times in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Prior to group command, he served as the Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs at the Pentagon, where he aided the Assistant Secretary in developing and implementing policies and strategies to advance national defense objectives for 147 countries around the globe. Before taking the helm at AFTAC, he commanded the 693rd ISR Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. In this role, he led 900 Airmen across 32 Air Force specialties in the execution of global ISR and national cryptologic operations. As the theater lead for the Distributed Common Ground System, the 693rd ISRG was responsible for enhancing the speed, scalability, and survivability of intelligence operations through the European and African areas of responsibility, while spearheading signals intelligence-sharing with regional military partners. EDUCATION 2002 Bachelor of Science degree in History and Minor in Arabic, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. 2003 Air Force Intelligence Officer Course, Distinguished Graduate, Goodfellow AFB, Texas 2003 Air and Space Basic Course, Academic Ace, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 2009 Squadron Officer School (correspondence), Maxwell AFB, Ala. 2012 Air Command and Staff College (correspondence), Maxwell AFB, Ala. 2015 Master’s degree in Security Studies (Middle East) Distinguished Graduate, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif. 2020 Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy, National War College, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. ASSIGNMENTS OR CAREER CHRONOLOGY 1. July 2002 - April 2003, Student, Fundamentals of Intelligence Course, Goodfellow AFB, Texas 2. May 2003 - October 2003, Special Projects Officer, Intelligence Flight, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Fort Bragg, N.C. 3. October 2003 - July 2004, Assistant Intelligence Flight Commander, 24th STS, Fort Bragg, N.C. 4. July 2004 - August 2006, Intelligence Team Leader, 24th STS, Fort Bragg, N.C. 5. August 2006 - June 2007, Operations Officer, Joint Exploitation Squadron, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C. 6. June 2007 - December 2009, Deputy Director of Operations, Joint Exploitation Squadron, JSOC, Fort Bragg, N.C. 7. January 2010 - January 2012, Operations Officer, Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C. 8. February 2012 - December 2013, Team Chief, DIA, Washington, D.C. 9. January 2014 - August 2015, Student, School of International Graduate Studies, NPS, Monterey, Calif. 10. September 2015 - May 2017, Director of Operations, Global Activities Squadron, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 11. June 2017 - June 2019: Commander, 566th Intelligence Squadron, Buckley AFB, Colo. 12. Jul 2019 - Jun 2020: Student, National War College, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. 13. Jun 2020 - May 2022: Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 14. May 2022 – June 2024, Commander, 693rd ISR Group, Ramstein Air Base, Germany 15. July 2024 – Present, Commander, Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick SFB, Fla. SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS August 2006 - December 2009, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., as a captain June 2020 - May 2022, Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a colonel MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal with four oak leaf clusters Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster Army Commendation Medal Joint Service Achievement Medal Air and Space Force Achievement Medal Combat Readiness Medal Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars Iraq Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal NATO Medal with bronze service star PUBLICATIONS “The Radicalization Puzzle: A Theoretical Synthesis of Empirical Approaches to Homegrown Extremism,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, September 2015. Co-author: Mohammed Hafez. “Cash is King: Financial Sponsorship and Changing Priorities in the Syrian Civil War,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, September 2017. Co-author: Anne Marie Baylouny. “Countering Iran’s Proxies: A U.S. Strategy to Secure the Gulf,” American Intelligence Journal, Vol. 37, No. 2, 2020. EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION Second Lieutenant May 29, 2002 First Lieutenant May 29, 2004 Captain May 29, 2006 Major May 1, 2012 Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 1, 2016 Colonel March 1, 2021 (Current as of July 2024)