COLONEL ROBERT S. NOREN
Colonel Robert “Bob” Noren is the Commander of the 165th Airlift Wing, Georgia Air National Guard, in Savannah, GA. As the Commander, he provides leadership to more than 1400 Airmen organized in the 165th Operation Group, 165th Mission Support Group, 165th Maintenance group, 165th Medical Group and two geographically separated units, the 224th Joint Communication Support Squadron in Brunswick, Georgia and the 117th Air Control Squadron at hunter Army Air Field, Georgia. He helps ensure the Wing and its Airmen are trained and equipped to support domestic operations and overseas missions at a moment’s notice.
Colonel Noren enrolled at Penn State University in the Engineering Department and also received a scholarship through Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). After graduating as a Distinguished Graduate from ROTC in 1992 he received a commission and became a Civil Engineering officer at Davis-Monthan- Tucson AFB, AZ. In 1994 he attended Undergraduate Navigator Training at Randolph AFB, TX where he was a Distinguished Graduate and selected for Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) flying the MC-130E. Col Noren was then selected as one of 50 Air Force captains for the Air Force Intern Program (AFIP) in Washington, D.C. in the AF/A3 Readiness Division then became the Chief of Public Correspondence where he worked directly for the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 2000 he returned to Hurlburt Field in the MC-130H where he flew 50+ combat missions and served several times in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, OEF-Horn of Africa and PLAN COLOMBIA. He also served as a SOF Air Liaison Officer with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF) in Afghanistan in 2003 & 2004. He served as an instructor in both the MC-130E & MC-130H and later became AFSOC’s lead MC-130 evaluator. Colonel Noren separated from the Air Force in 2004 and worked in USSOCOM J8 as a task leader for Jacobs Technology. He joined the Georgia Air National Guard in 2009 and held positions as Flight Commander, Director of Operations, Air Liaison Officer, Joint Terminal Attack Controller (Instructor) and Commander. In this capacity he served on many Theater-level exercises as well as numerous Army Division and Brigade field exercises and Joint Readiness Training Center-sponsored training events. He then served as the Wing Chief of Staff in 2019 and returned to flight status in the C-130H in July 2019. He served as Commander or in the Emergency Operations Center for the State of Georgia for 4 domestic operations emergencies in 2014, 2016, 2017 & 2020. In January 2021, Noren became the 165th Mission Support Group commander where he led over 700 Airmen and he served in that role until November 2021 prior to becoming the 165th Airlift Wing commander. During his time as 165th MSG commander, Colonel Noren deployed and was the 385th Air Expeditionary Group Commander in Al Udeid AB, Qatar in early 2021 overseeing the military retrograde from in Central Command.
EDUCATION
1992 Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Penn State University
1998 Squadron Officer’s School, Distinguished Graduate (In-Residence)
2000 Master of Arts Degree in Organizational Management, George Washington University
2009 Intermediate Development Course, McGhee-Tyson ANGB, Tennessee
2011 Air Command & Staff College (Correspondence)
2013 National Security Reserve Component Course, Ft. McNair, Washington D.C.
2018 Air War College (Correspondence)
ASSIGNMENTS/SERVICE HISTORY
1. 1993-1994 Civil Engineering Officer, 355 CES, Davis-Monthan- Tucson AFB, AZ
2. 1994 Undergraduate Navigator Training, Distinguished Graduate, Randolph AFB, TX
3. 1995-1998 MC-130E Instructor Navigator, 8 SOS, Hurlburt Field, FL
4. 1998-2000 Air Force Intern Program, Washington D.C.
5. 2000-2004 MC-130H Instructor/Evaluator, 15 SOS, 16 OG, AFSOC/A3V, Hulrburt Field, FL
6. 2004-2009 Inactive Reserve
7. 2009-2019 Director of Operations & Commander, 165 ASOS, Garden City, GA
8. 2019-2020 Chief of Staff, 165th Airlift Wing, Garden City, GA
9. 2020-2021, Commander, 165 Mission Support Group, Garden City, GA
10.2021-Present, Commander, 165 Airlift Wing, Garden City, GA
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Senior Navigator
Flight Hours: Over 2,200 Hours, 350+ Combat Hours
Military Aircraft Flown: MC-130E, MC-130H, C-130H
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Army Commendation Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant, 9 January 1993
First Lieutenant, 17 May 1995
Captain, 17 May 1997
Major, 1 July 2003 (Adjusted to 28 Nov 2007 due to separation from Active Duty in 2004)
Lieutenant Colonel, 22 January 2012
Colonel, 11 January 2020