Colonel 446TH MISSION SUPPORT GROUP COMMANDER

Colonel Hamilton B. Underwood is the Commander of the 446th Mission Support Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. He directs more than 700 reserve military Airmen and 35 civilian servicers in seven units including 446th MSG Staff, 446th Civil Engineer Squadron, 446th Force Support Squadron, 446th Security Forces Squadron, 36th Aerial Port Squadron, 86th Aerial Port Squadron, and 446th Logistics Readiness Flight who provide peacetime and wartime mission readiness support for the Air Force Reserve Command and Air Mobility Command.  The 446th Mission Support Group provides security, cyberspace operations, logistics, personnel management, and information management programs for 3,400 Reserve and civilian personnel and Active Duty and National Guard mission partners.

Colonel Underwood received his commission through the Academy of Military Science in 2001. Prior enlisted, he served over 12 years as an Aerial Port Specialist.  After commissioning, Colonel Underwood held numerous duty positions in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Combat Camera Squadrons. He was the 4th Combat Camera Squadron Commander prior to its July 2015 inactivation. He then led the successful re-activation of the squadron in a Classic Unit Association construct with 1st Combat Camera Squadron at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, whereupon, he again took command of the squadron.  Prior to 446th Mission Support Group assignment, he was the Commander of the 452d Mission Support Group, March Air Reserve Base, California.  In this position, he directed more than 1,400 Reserve Citizen Airmen in seven squadrons and three functional areas who provide peacetime and wartime mission readiness support for the Air Force Reserve Command and Air Mobility Command.  The 452d Mission Support Group provided security, communications, logistics, personnel management and information management programs for 3,400 Reserve and civilian personnel and 20 mission partners.

Colonel Underwood has significant joint experience participating in numerous exercises as well as deployments in direct support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM.

EDUCATION
1993 Bachelor of Arts English, University of California, Los Angeles, Calif.
1998 Master of Fine Arts Film, University of California, Los Angeles, Calif.
2010 Master of Urban and Regional Planning, California Polytechnic Institute, Pomona, Calif.                  
2010 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence   
2011 Joint Intermediate Public Affairs Officer Course, Ft. Meade, Md.
2011 Leadership Today and Tomorrow, Washington D.C.
2014 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2019 Joint Senior Public Affairs Course, Ft. Meade, Md.
2019 Reserve Component National Security Course, Washington D.C.
2021 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence

ASSIGNMENTS

1.  March – July 1987, Aerial Port Specialist, 62d Aerial Port Squadron (APS), McChord Air Force Base (AFB), Wash.
2.  July 1987 – September 1989, Aerial Port Specialist, 36th Aerial Port Squadron, McChord AFB, Wash.
3.  September 1989 – April 1994, Aerial Port Specialist, 61st Aerial Port Squadron, Norton AFB, Calif.
4.  April 1994 – January 2001, Aerial Port Specialist, 56th Aerial Port Squadron, March Air Reserve Base (ARB), Calif. (With duties nbsp; to March Field Total Force Honor Guard)
5.  January – March 2001, Officer Candidate, Academy of Military Science, McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard Base (ANGB), Tenn
6.  March 2001 – February 2010, Officer in Charge, Current Operations, 4th Combat Camera Squadron (CTCS), March ARB, Calif (With duties to Special Operations Command Europe J-4, Patch Barracks, GE; European Command J-4, Patch Barracks GE; Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif. Deployed November 2005 – March 2006, Officer in Charge, Joint Imagery Management Team, Multi-National Corps, Camp Victory, Iraq. Deployed April 2007 – October 2008, Officer in Charge, Joint Combat Camera Team, Multi-National Corps, Camp Victory, Iraq.)
7.  February 2010 – July 2014, Still Photo Flight Commander, 4th Combat Camera Squadron, March ARB, Calif. (With seven months of duty as 452d Mission Support Group (MSG) Executive Officer and Resource Advisor.)
8.  July 2014 – July 2015, Commander, 4th Combat Camera Squadron, March ARB, Calif.
9.   July 2015 – October 2016, Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA), 3rd Combat Camera Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. (With ten months of duty as Director, Public Affairs, Space and Missile System Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif, concurrent with duties as Program Integration Officer, 1st CTCS, Joint Base Charleston, S.C.)
10. October 2016 – September 2018, Commander, 4th Combat Camera Squadron, Joint Base Charleston, S.C. (With six months of duty as Director, Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office, Los Angeles, Calif.)
11. September 2018 – November 2020, Public Affairs Officer, IMA, Secretary of the Air Force, Public Affairs, Pentagon,
      Washington D.C.
12. November 2020 – April 2022, Deputy Commander, 452d Mission Support Group, March ARB, Calif.
13. May – July 2022, Commander (acting), 452d Mission Support Group, March ARB, Calif.
14. August – December 2023, Commander (G-series), 452d Mission Support Group, March ARB, Calif.
15. January – June 2023, Deputy Director 1/6/7, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, Ali Alsalem AB, Kuwait.
16. July 2023 – May 2024, Student Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
17. 30 June 2024 – Current, Commander, 446th Mission Support Group

 

  

 MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

 Defense Meritorious Service Medal
 Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters
 Army Commendation Medal
 Joint Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
 Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
 Air Force Achievement Medal with five oak leaf clusters

 

 EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
 Second Lieutenant             March 3, 2001
 First Lieutenant                  March 22, 2003
 Captain                              March 28, 2004                                                                                                                                                                  
 Major                                  Oct 27, 2010
 Lieutenant Colonel             Oct 1, 2017
 Colonel                               June 1, 2024

 

 

(Current as of 30 June 2024)