Ret. Col Allison Black

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Allison Black served over 32 years of active-duty military service, commanding at multiple levels within the Joint Force and U.S. Special Operations Command. She culminated her career as the commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. In this capacity, she prepared Airmen for worldwide missions, specializing in crisis and contingency operations. The wing’s mission encompassed planning, posturing and executing precision strike, specialized mobility, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Under her leadership, the wing operated over 78 aircraft, including the AC-130J Ghostrider, CV-22 Osprey, MC-130J Shadow II, U-28A Draco and MQ-9 Reaper, supporting direct action, unconventional warfare, reconnaissance, counterterrorism, personnel recovery and information operations missions.