Col. Brendan P. Hopkins is the Commander, 6th Operations Group, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. He is responsible for the planning and execution of global aerial refueling missions in direct support of the Secretary of Defense, Combatant Commanders, and national leaders. He leads a group comprised of 544 Airmen, four squadrons, and 24 KC-135 aircraft and executes a seven-million-dollar budget.
Colonel Hopkins was commissioned in the United States Air Force in May 2004 after completing Reserve Officer Training Corp at the University of California Berkeley. Following graduation from joint specialized undergraduate pilot training, he served in a variety of operational assignments as a KC-135R/T, C-21A and C-17A Evaluator and Aircraft Commander. He has flown combat and combat support missions in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, and Inherent Resolve and is a Command Pilot with more than 3,300 flying hours. In 2010, Col Hopkins was select for Air Mobility Command’s Phoenix Reach program. After graduating from the Air Force Fellow’s program in 2016, he served as a staff officer at Air Mobility Command and a joint action officer at United States European Command. Prior to his current assignment, Col Hopkins was a National Defense Fellow at Harvard University.
EDUCATION
2004 Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, Calif.
2010 Master of Arts, Webster University, Saint Louis, Mo.
2010 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2014 Air Command and Staff College, Correspondence
2015 Air Force Fellow, Joint Mobility Fellowship, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
2015 Supply Chain Management Certification, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Mo.
2019 Joint Professional Military Education II, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2025 National Defense Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2004 - June 2005, Student Pilot, VT3 Student Squadron, Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla.
2. June 2005 - January 2006, Student Pilot, 32d Flying Training Squadron, Vance Air Force Base (AFB), Okla.
3. August 2006 - July 2008, Aircraft Commander, Scheduling Officer, 92d Air Refueling Squadron, Fairchild AFB, Wash.
4. July 2008 - February 2012, C-21A Formal Training Unit Evaluator Pilot, Wing Executive Officer, 375th Air Mobility Wing, Scott AFB, Ill.
5. July 2012 - July 2015, C-17A Evaluator Pilot, Chief of Command Post, Travis AFB, Calf.
6. July 2015 - June 2016, Air Force Fellow, Joint Mobility Fellowship, Scott AFB, Ill.
7. June 2016 - July 2017, Assistant Executive Officer to the Commander, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
8. July 2017 - July 2019, Chief of Focal Point Operations, United States European Command, Stuttgart, Germany
9. September 2019 - July 2020, Chief Wing Safety, 375th Air Mobility Wing, Scott AFB, Ill.
10. July 2020 - May 2022, Commander, 458th Airlift Squadron, Scott AFB, Ill.
11. Maj 2022 – July 2024, Chief, Senior Leader Management Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
12. July 2024 – June 2025, National Defense Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge Mass.
13. June 2025 – Present, Commander, 6th Operations Group, MacDill AFB, Fla.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 2017 – July 2019, Chief of Focal Point Operations, United States European Command, Stuttgart, Germany as a Lieutenant Colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: More than 3,300 hours
Aircraft Flown: KC-135R/T, C-21A, and C-17A
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air and Space Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Combat Readiness Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 2, 2004
First Lieutenant June 2, 2006
Captain June 2, 2008
Major October 1, 2014
Lieutenant Colonel October 1, 2018
Colonel April 1, 2024
(Current as of June 2025)