MCGHEE TYSON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Tenn. -- U.S. Air Force Col. Jennifer R. Kondal took command of the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center on McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in East Tennessee, February 26, during a virtual change-of-command ceremony.
Colonel Kondal is the 16th commander after U.S. Air Force Col. Kenneth Lozano. He becomes the Provost Marshal and Chief, Logistics, Engineering, and Force Protection Division, National Guard Bureau, Joint Staff in Arlington, Virginia. Colonel Kondal previously served as the Deputy Director of ANG Operations for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Operations, at the readiness center on Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Colonel Kondal is “the right person to continue TEC’s development,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Gerock, the readiness center commander who presided over the ceremony from Maryland through recorded video. “I am proud of the job [Colonel Lozano has] done at TEC … and am excited about welcoming [him] back to the NCR.”
It was the organization’s first virtual change of command. Staff, family, and friends watched the guidon’s formal passing -- representing the transfer of responsibility -- online, from video segments directed by TEC-U’s production branch and coordinated with the DC National Guard’s 113th Wing Public Affairs.
TEC is a detachment of the Air National Guard Readiness Center and conducts enlisted professional military education and professional continuing education for the total U.S. Air Force. The organization additionally manages the Warrior Network and the television broadcast studios.
Colonel Lozano began his command in May 2019. He oversaw thousands of service members’ training and education and set a vision and priorities through new strategic planning. He shifted the organization away from conferencing to acquire Mission Defense Team cyber training with the Air Combat Command. His tenure also included the TEC University division launch and a pandemic reset for virtual-remote PME to the total force.
Colonel Kondal enlisted in 1990 and earned her commission in 1995 through TEC’s Academy of Military Science. She held numerous positions as an intelligence officer, including support for KC-135 and F-16 flying units.
She served as commander of the 102nd Operations Support Squadron as part of the Distributed Common Ground System mission, as the ANG Assistant to the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office, and as the Director of Intelligence, Operations, and Communications for the New York ANG. She has additional experience as a government civilian in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.
Colonel Kondal’s awards include the Bronze Star Medal, a Defense Meritorious Service Medal, four Air Force Meritorious Service Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, four Air Force Commendation Medals, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, and two Air Force Achievement Medals, among other unit-level, state, and service awards.