Col. Angela M. Tapia is the 19th Commander, I.G. Brown Training and Education Center, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee. She is responsible for the Air National Guard’s primary force development center and more than 4,000 in-resident students annually from the Total Force, U.S. Coast Guard, and partner nation armed forces. She plans, organizes and directs the overall operation of the center while providing leadership for an average of 13 Enlisted Professional Military Education courses and 30 Professional Continuing Education session per year. She is also responsible for the Air National Guard’s premiere $7 million television production/broadcast center.
Col. Tapia is a graduate of the Academy of Military Science at McGhee Tyson ANGB, Tennessee. She served in the New Mexico ANG as an enlisted Airman for more than 11 years before earning a commission in 2005. She was instrumental in establishing the New Mexico National Guard’s State Partnership Program with Costa Rica as well as standing up the first Total Force Personnel Recovery Intelligence Formal Training Unit (PR-IFTU) at the 150th Special Operations Wing. As a Maintenance Officer, Col. Tapia deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom to Balad Air Base, Iraq.
Prior to her current assignment, the colonel was dual hatted as the Commander, Headquarters Air National Guard Readiness Center Detachment 41 and Air National Guard Advisor to the Commander of Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center, Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado
EDUCATION
2002 Associate of Applied Science, Education and Training Management, Community College of the Air Force
2003 Bachelor of Science, Occupational Education with specialization in Business Management, Wayland Baptist University, Plainview, Texas
2004 Associate of Applied Science, Human Resource Management, Community College of the Air Force
2005 Commissioning, Academy of Military Science, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn.
2011 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence 2017 Master of Military Arts and Science, Operational Warfare, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2017 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2017 Wilson Center’s Foreign Policy Fellowship, Wilson Center, Washington, D.C.
2017 Master’s Certificate in Legislative Studies, Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
2021 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence
2022 Master of Science, National Security Strategy, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. 2023 Strategic Mindset Seminar, Stimson & Associates, Inc., Arlington, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 2005—April 2008, Officer in Charge, Equipment Maintenance Flight, 150th Maintenance Group, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
2. August 2005—April 2008, International Affairs Specialist, Joint Force Headquarters, New Mexico National Guard, Santa Fe, N.M.
3. April 2008—May 2011, Commander, Maintenance Operations Flight, 150th Maintenance Group, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
4. May 2011—May 2013, Flight Commander, 250th Intelligence Squadron, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
5. May 2014—July 2015, Wing Executive Staff Officer, 150th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
6. May 2013—November 2015, Chief, Personnel Recovery Intelligence Formal Training Unit, 150th Operations Support Squadron, 150th Operations Group, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
7. December 2015—December 2016, Legislative Liaison, Office of Legislative Liaison, National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
8. January 2017—U.S. Senate Defense Fellow, Department of the Air Force Legislative Fellowship, Washington, D.C
9. January 2018—December 2019, Special Assistant, Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense, Legislative Affairs, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
10. December 2019—July 2021, Aide-de-Camp to the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
11. August 2021—June 2022, Student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington D.C.
12. July 2022—November 2023, Commander, Air National Guard Readiness Center Detachment 41, Dual hatted Air National Guard Advisor to the Commander, Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center, Buckley Space Force Base, Colo.
13. December 2023—present, Commander, I.G. Brown Training and Education Center, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 2018 – December 2019, Special Assistant, Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense, Legislative Affairs, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a lieutenant colonel.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal with oak leaf
Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant April 21, 2005
First Lieutenant April 21, 2007 Captain April 21, 2009
Major January 10, 2014
Lieutenant Colonel January 30, 2018
Colonel November 30, 2022
(Current as of April 2025)