Jason Hanover, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, is a military fellow at The Washington Institute. Previously, he commanded the 71st Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, a premier irregular warfare squadron with responsibilities that ranged from personnel recovery to humanitarian relief, disaster response, security cooperation, and aviation advisory.
Colonel Hanover is a veteran pilot and instructor. For eight years, he served as a Special Operations MC-130H Combat Talon II pilot and instructor, flying missions in support of Plan Columbia, Operation Joint Guardian, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also served for three years as an Air Combat Command HC-130P Combat King pilot and instructor, flying missions in support of U.S. operations in the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan. His combat experience includes frontline air support of U.S. ground troops and direct engagement with Taliban, al-Qaeda, Iraqi, and insurgent forces. During a staff assignment with Joint Special Operations Command, he served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Special Operations task forces.
Among Colonel Hanover's many decorations are the Bronze Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor and one oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Air Force Combat Action Medal. He received the Lt. Gen. William H. Tunner Award in 2002 for actions in the opening days of Operation Enduring Freedom and the James Jabara Award for Airmanship in 2004 in recognition of his outstanding combat service in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Colonel Hanover is a 2005 graduate of Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and a 2006 graduate of Joint Forces Staff College. He is the coauthor of the August 2007 American Diplomacy article, "The Need for a Common Interagency Regional Framework."
Education: M.B.A., Loyola Marymount University; B.S., U.S. Air Force Academy
