Col. José E. Jiménez Jr. is the Commandant, Inter-American Air Forces Academy (IAAFA), Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. He is responsible for providing military education and training, primarily in Spanish, for more than 900 students annually to eligible military forces and governmental partners of 21 Latin American and Caribbean countries. IAAFA consists of 112 personnel in the 318 TRS, 837 TRS and Student Affairs Flight.
IAAFA’s curriculum includes more than 51 courses in aircraft and helicopter maintenance, intelligence, air base defense, information systems, logistics, International SOS and NCO Professional Military Education, flight operations, and search and rescue. Besides JBSA-Lackland, IAAFA’s other training facilities are located at Medina Training Annex and Camp Bullis. With a 77-year heritage, IAAFA continues to be the one and only USAF security assistance institution of its kind.
Prior to his current assignment, Colonel Jiménez was the Division Chief for Multi-Domain Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) at Headquarters Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He was the lead for Collection Management, Space, Cyber, and targeting and, in that role, shaped program, oversight, and guidance decisions. Additionally, Colonel Jiménez was the 25th Air Force Inspector General, JBSA-Lackland, Texas. In that capacity he led a 21-person team that executed a $1.8M triennial budget and carried out Air Force Unit Effectiveness Inspections at 92 Active Duty and Air Reserve Component units at 72 global locations.
Colonel Jiménez is from San José, Costa Rica, and entered the Air Force in 1998 as a graduate of the University of New Orleans. He is a three-time commander and Master Intelligence Officer with tours as an Air Staff Division Chief, Joint Staff Branch Chief, Numbered Air Force Inspection General, Major Command Functional Manager, Special Activities Programs (SAP) Senior Collection Manager, Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Senior Intelligence Officer as well as assignments in Basic Military Training, AFROTC and OTS. He has deployed multiple times in support of counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics and peacekeeping operations in the Middle East, South America and the Balkans.
EDUCATION
1997 Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish, University of New Orleans, La.
1998 Officer Intelligence Course, Goodfellow AFB, Texas
2000 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL (in-residence)
2004 Master of Arts Degree in National Security Studies, Troy State University, Ala.
2007 Air Command and Staff College (correspondence)
2007 Intelligence Master Skills Course, Goodfellow AFB, Texas
2012 Master of Science Degree in Strategic Intelligence, National Intelligence University, Washington D.C. (in-residence IDE)
2012 Air War College (correspondence)
ASSIGNMENTS
- January 1998 - September 1998, student Officer Intelligence Course, Goodfellow AFB, Texas
- October 1998 - October 2001, Chief, Intel Unit Support, 374 OSS, Yokota AB, Japan
- October 2001 - April 2003, Flight Commander/Instructor, 24th Training Squadron, Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
- April 2003 - October 2004, Flight Commander/Instructor, 23d Training Squadron, Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
- October 2004 - May 2006, COMUSAFE Briefing Team Chief and Flight Commander, Air and Air Defense; 603d AOC; Ramstein AB, Germany
- May 2006 - October 2006, Flight Commander, Weapons and Tactics Team, Senior Intel Duty Officer and Assistant Director of Operations; 603d AOC, Ramstein AB, Germany
- October 2006 - October 2007, USAFE Intel Functional Manager, Ramstein AB, Germany
- October 2007 - October 2008, Branch Chief, Intel Unit Support, Training and Exercises, Ramstein AB, Germany
- October 2008 - July 2010, Senior Intelligence Officer (boarded position), 563d Rescue Group, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
- July 2010 - July 2011, Senior Collection Manager for Special Activities Programs (SAP), Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington D.C.
- July 2011 - July 2012, Graduate Student (IDE), National Intelligence University, Washington D.C.
- July 2012 - June 2013, Joint Targets Operations Officer, Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
- June 2013 - July 2014, Branch Chief, Targeting Automation Branch, Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
- August 2014 - May 2016, Commander, Air Force ROTC Detachment 025, Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.
- May 2016 - July 2018, Commander, 331 Training Squadron, Basic Military Training, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
- July 2018 - June 2019, Inspector General, 25th Air Force and Chief of Inspections, Air Combat Command/IG Team Echo, JBSA-Lackland, Texas
- July 2019 - June 2020, Division Chief for Multi-Domain Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Headquarters Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
- 1 July 2020 - Present, Commandant, Inter-American Air Forces Academy, JBSA-Lackland, Texas
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with one oak leaf cluster
National Defense Service Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
NATO Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Jan. 6, 1998
First Lieutenant Jan. 6, 2000
Captain Jan. 6, 2002
Major July 1, 2007
Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 1, 2012
Colonel April 1, 2019
(Current as of July 2020)