Col Aaron Oelrich

Division Chief, Joint Fires Element and the Joint Reconnaissance Center

U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM)

Colonel Aaron J. Oelrich is the Director of the United States Northern Command’s Joint Fires and Reconnaissance Operations. In this leadership role, he is responsible for all airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance operations and Incident Awareness and Assessment across the entire U.S. Northern Command’s area of operations. Additionally, Colonel Oelrich synchronizes strategic effects actions through systematically joint targeting methodology across combatant command boundaries and mission partners to achieve U.S. Northern Command’s strategic objectives.

Colonel Oelrich received his commission in 2000 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He earned a Master of Science in Aeronautical Sciences Technology 2005 from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida. He also earned a Master’s of Science in Logistics from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 2013 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. He earned a Master of Military Philosophy in Military Strategy from the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies in 2014 at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Finally, he received a Master’s of Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy from the Joint Advanced Warfighter School in Norfolk, Virginia.

Before his current position he served as the Commander, 436th Operations Support Squadron, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. Additionally, he served as Operations Officer of the 3d Airlift Squadron at Dover Air Force Base. Before that he served as the Executive Officer to the Vice Commander and the Director of Operations, Plans, Programs, and Requirements for Pacific Air Forces. He also served as the Senior C-17A Evaluator Pilot for the entire Pacific Air Forces.

Colonel Oelrich is a command pilot with over 5,500 hours in the C-21A, C-17A, 737-300, 737-700, 737-800, 737-MAX, T-1, and T-37. He has flown 891 combat hours and 14 combat airdrops in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.

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