Colonel Allen Herritage is the Principal Deputy Director, Air Force Public Affairs, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He is responsible for supporting the Director of Public Affairs in creating and executing strategies to build informed public support for the Air Force and air and space power. He provides guidance and policy oversight for internal information, community and media relations, and security review programs during peacetime and war, as well as resources and readiness oversight for nearly 4,500 active duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen and civilians. Col. Herritage also develops and integrates Air Staff-level strategic communication plans supporting major policy and programming initiatives.
Colonel Herritage entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, in 1997 after receiving a degree in English. He has served as a mission support group commander, a Combat Camera squadron commander, and in various positions as a public affairs officer at the wing, center, numbered Air Force, major command and headquarters levels, as well as joint tours. He has deployed to Haiti in support of humanitarian exercises, Kyrgyzstan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and to Iraq twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His last assignment was Public Affairs Advisor to the Chief of Space Operations, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
EDUCATION
1997 Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C.
1999 Public Affairs Officer Qualification Course, Defense Information School, Fort Meade, Md.
2002 Information Warfare Applications Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2002 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2005 Master of Public Administration, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.
2011 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2011 Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2016 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2016 Master of Strategic Studies with academic distinction, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1998 - August 1998, student, undergraduate space and missile training, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
2. August 1998 - July 1999, Protocol Officer, Air Warfare Center, Nellis AFB, Nev.
3. July 1999 - September 2001 Deputy Chief of Public Affairs, Air Warfare Center, Nellis AFB, Nev.
4. September 2001 - June 2004, Chief of Public Affairs, Air Combat Command, Directorate of Operations, Airspace and Ranges division, Langley AFB, Va.
5. June 2004 - November 2006, Chief of Public Affairs, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
6. November 2006 - April 2009, Director of Public Affairs, Alaskan Command, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
7. April 2009 - April 2010, Executive Officer and Public Affairs advisor to the Director, Multi-National Force-Iraq, Strategic Effects/Strategic Communication Division, Baghdad, Iraq
8. July 2010 - June 2011, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
9. July 2011 - July 2013, Commander, 2nd Combat Camera Squadron, Hill AFB, Utah
10. July 2013 - May 2014, Chief, Air Force Press Desk, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
11. May 2014 - July 2015, Strategic Communications Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
12. July 2015 - May 2016, Student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
13. June 2016 - June 2018, Director of Public Affairs, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
14. June 2018 - June 2020, Director of Public Affairs, Headquarters, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
15. June 2020 - June 2022, Commander, 633rd Mission Support Group, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
16. July 2022 - August 2022, Public Affairs Advisor to the Chief of Space Operations, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
17. September 2022 - present, Deputy Director, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2007 Brig. Gen. Harry J. Dalton Jr. Award for public affairs communication effectiveness
(Current as of Aug. 2023)