Col. Matthew M. Groves is the 136th Airlift Wing Commander, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. He leads a fully operational combat unit that also supports the Texas Air National Guard Band of the Southwest and the 254th Combat Communications Group. The wing is responsible for organizing, equipping, and training personnel for worldwide deployment by providing combatant commanders with combat-ready forces, while supporting Air Mobility Command’s airlift requirements with eight assigned C-130J aircraft. The wing also provides ready forces to the Governor and Texas Military Department to aid in domestic disaster response and homeland defense.
Colonel Groves entered the Air Force in 1999 through Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. He has extensive involvement with joint and interagency counterdrug operations and expertise in the United States Southern Command area of operations. Colonel Groves has commanded aircrews on combat missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans region as well as domestic humanitarian missions. He served as Commander of the 385th Air Expeditionary Group, the 123d Operations Support Squadron and the 123d Global Mobility Readiness Squadron, and led multinational Ebola relief operations in Dakar, Senegal. He has extensive legislative expertise, serving as a Congressional Fellow and Legislative Liaison for both the Air Force and Office of the Secretary of Defense. Prior to his current position, the colonel was the Vice Wing Commander, 136th Airlift Wing, NAS JRB Fort Worth, Texas.
EDUCATION
1997 Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources, University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.
2006 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2009 Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2012 Graduate Certificate in Legislative Studies, Government Affairs Institute, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
2012 Department of Defense Legislative Fellowship, Washington, D.C.
2013 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2017 Joint Combined Warfighting School, National Defense University, Norfolk, Va.
2018 National Security Studies Program, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
2020 Executive Business Immersion, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
2021 Secretary of Defense Executive Fellowship, Dell Technologies, McLean, Va.
2023 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 1999 – November 2001, Student pilot, Columbus, Miss, Corpus Christi, Texas and Little Rock, Ark.
2. November 2001 – January 2005, Pilot, C-130E, 2nd Airlift Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.
3. February 2005 – December 2005, Aircraft Commander, C-130H, 130th Airlift Squadron, Charleston, W.V.
4. January 2006 – February 2007, A Flight Member, 165th Airlift Squadron, Louisville, Ky.
5. February 2007 – July 2008, C-130 Instructor Pilot, 165th Airlift Squadron, Louisville, Ky.
6. July 2008 – June 2009, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
7. June 2009 – July 2011, State Partnership Program Coordinator/C-130 Instructor Pilot, Kentucky National Guard Joint Force Headquarters, Frankfort, Ky.
8. July 2011 – December 2012, Department of Defense Legislative Fellow, United States Senate, Washington, D.C.
9. December 2012 – September 2014, Commander/Instructor Pilot, 123d Operations Support Squadron, Louisville, Ky. (December 2013 – April 2014, Deputy Commander, 386th Air Expeditionary Group, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait)
10. September 2014 – January 2016, Commander/Instructor Pilot, 123d Global Mobility Readiness Squadron, Louisville, Ky.
11. January 2016 – March 2018, Senior Policy Advisor for the Air National Guard to the Reserve Forces Policy Board, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C., Joint Duty Assignment as a colonel
12. March 2018 – August 2018, Commander, 385th Air Expeditionary Group, Al Udeid AB, Qatar
13. September 2018 – May 2019, Chief, Mobility Operations Division, National Guard Bureau A2/3/6/10, Joint Base Andrews, Md.
14. May 2019 – July 2020, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, OSD, Washington, D.C., Joint Duty Assignment as a colonel
15. July 2020 – June 2021, Secretary of Defense Executive Fellow, Dell Technologies, McLean, Va.
16. June 2021 – December 2021, Deputy Director, Plans and Programs Directorate, NGB A5/8, JB Andrews, Md.
17. January 2022 – October 2022, Vice Wing Commander, 136th Airlift Wing, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base
Fort Worth, Texas
18. October 2022 – present, Wing Commander, 136th Airlift Wing, NAS JRB Fort Worth, Texas
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 2016 – March 2018, Senior Policy Advisor for the ANG to the Reserve Forces Policy Board, OSD, Washington, D.C., as a colonel
2. May 2019 – July 2020, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, OSD, Washington, D.C., as a colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 2,000
Aircraft: T-37, T-44, C-130E/H/J, C-17A, and KC-135
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Army Commendation Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Sept. 30, 1999
First Lieutenant Sept. 30, 2001
Captain Sept. 30, 2003
Major Nov. 17, 2007
Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 16, 2011
Colonel Sept. 15, 2016
(Current as of February 2023)