Chaplain Lt. Col. Derick Wakefield is the Air National Guard’s total force Chaplain assigned on active duty to the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in East Tennessee. He plans, directs, and organizes Chaplain functions, programs, and activities for a staff of 80 total Air Force personnel who train and educate more than 4,000 students annually.

Chaplain Wakefield was ordained in December 1990 at Nazarene Baptist Church in Evansville, Indiana. He served for four years with the regular Air Force and earned his commission through the Air National Guard in September 2009. The Chaplain served in ministry for 38 years in various capacities; Youth Minister, Minister of Christian Education, and Executive Director of the inner-city ministry IMPACT. He has been the senior pastor of Freedom Fellowship Christian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, for 24 years. Before his current assignment, Chaplain Wakefield provided ministry to 1,500 assigned personnel as Wing Chaplain of the 134th Air Refueling Wing, Tennessee Air National Guard.

EDUCATION
1985 Basic Military Training, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
1985 Administrative Specialist School, Keesler AFB, Miss.
1992 Bachelor of Arts, American Baptist College, Nashville, Tenn.
2009 Master of Divinity, Church of God Theological Seminary, Cleveland, Tenn.
2010 Commissioned Officers Training, Air Force Chaplain Corps College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2011 Basic Chaplain Course, Army Chaplain Center, Fort Jackson, S.C.
2011 Squadron Officer School Air Force Chaplain Corps College, by correspondence
2013 Chaplain Spiritual Leadership Course, Army Chaplain Center, Fort Jackson, S.C.
2016 Deputy Wing Chaplain Course, Army Chaplain Center, Fort Jackson, S.C.
2018 Wing Chaplain Course, Air Force Chaplain Corps College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1986–October 1989 Active Duty Air Force Administrative Specialist, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
2. September 2009–February 2022, Wing Chaplain, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn.
3. February 2022–present, Chaplain, I.G. Brown Training and Education Center, McGhee Tyson ANGB, Tenn.

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal
Army Commendation Medal

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
First Lieutenant September 19, 2008
Captain October 1, 2010
Major February 6, 2016
Lieutenant Colonel July 6, 2020

(Current as of March 2022)