Col. George Dougherty
Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Research Lab
Department of the Air Force
Colonel George M. Dougherty is the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He assists the commander in accomplishing AFRL’s mission of leading the discovery, development and integration of warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. He plays a key role in directing the Air Force’s $2.5 billion science and technology program and an additional $2.3 billion in externally funded research and development. Colonel Dougherty leads over 100 reservists to augment a workforce of approximately 6,000 people in the laboratory’s nine component technology directorates and the 711th Human Performance Wing.
Colonel Dougherty was commissioned in 1991 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps upon graduation from the University of Virginia. Prior to his current assignment, Colonel Dougherty served as the Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Vice Commander of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. Other assignments include service on the Headquarters Air Force staff as the IMA to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering, development engineering in the F-22 System Program Office, and the deputy leadership of the Air Force's Congressionally mandated corrosion prevention and control program. His Reserve experience has included three extended tours in active duty command or organizational senior military leader roles, including as the acting Deputy Director of two Directorates of AFRL and as the Military Assistant for the Office of Emerging Capability and Prototyping in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
As a civilian, Colonel Dougherty has served as an executive in two international management consulting firms providing product development and innovation strategy to technology and life sciences companies and the federal government. He also led research programs in microtechnology and counter-weapons of mass destruction technologies at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
EDUCATION
1991 Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
1993 Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
2001 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
2002 Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.
2005 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2008 Master of Business Administration, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
2014 Air War College, by correspondence
2017 Reserve Components National Security Course, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1993 - July 1995, Engine Structures Engineer, F-22 System Program Office, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
2. July 1995 - July 1997, Project Manager for Micro Electromechanical Systems, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
3. March 1998 - November 2004, Research Engineer, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
4. November 2004 - June 2008, Senior Electronic Device Engineer, Sensors Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
5. June 2008 - July 2012, Associate Deputy Division Chief, Sensors Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
6. July 2012 - October 2015, Deputy Chief, Corrosion Prevention and Control Program, Office of the Undersecretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
7. April 2013 – June 2013, Acting Deputy Director, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Research Laboratory, Arlington, Va.
8. May 2015 – December 2015, Acting Deputy Director, Directed Energy Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
9. October 2015 – September 2018, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
10. December 2017 – June 2018, Acting Military Assistant, Office of Emerging Capability and Prototyping, Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
11. September 2018 – August 2019, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Vice Commander, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
12. August 2019 – Present, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. December 2017 – June 2018, Acting Military Assistant, Office of Emerging Capability and Prototyping, Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a colonel
AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon with two oak leaf clusters
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with hourglass device
PUBLICATIONS
2019 “Ground Combat Overmatch Through Control of the Atmospheric Littoral,” Joint Force Quarterly.
2018 "Promoting Disruptive Military Innovation: Best Practices for DoD Experimentation and Prototyping Programs," Defense Acquisition Research Journal.
2018 “How To Be an Effective Military Innovation Champion,” Defense Acquisition Magazine.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant 18 May 1991
First Lieutenant 18 May 1993
Captain 18 May 1995
Major 1 October 2002
Lieutenant Colonel 1 October 2009
Colonel 1 October 2015