Col Rojas is the Deputy Commander, 118th Wing, Berry Field Air National Guard Base, Nashville, Tennessee providing actionable, innovative, and agile signals and digital network intelligence, geospatial targeting intelligence, expeditionary combat support, and lethal armed overwatch. Supporting to national security priorities and projecting American power across the globe.
The colonel started his military career in 1991, serving as an Active Duty Army Warrant Officer and decorated UH-60 Blackhawk pilot. He commissioned in the Tennessee Air Nation Guard in October 1999 and graduated the Air Force’s Fixed Wing Qualification Course in December, 2000. Across his 35 years of service, he served as both an Aeromedical Evacuation and Assault Helicopter pilot, as an Air Force Mission Commander, and as a Formal Training Unit C-130 Instructor Pilot. He has operated C-130 aircraft around the world in support of multiple contingencies to include deployments in support of Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In July 2013 he graduated the Air Force Intelligence Officers Course and commanded at the 246th Intelligence Squadron. In 2017, he served in support of the Tennessee / Bulgaria State Partnership Program both as the program’s Director, Joint Force Headquarters, Nashville, TN and as its Bilateral Affairs Officer with the US Embassy, Sofia, Bulgaria’s Office of Defense Cooperation. He supported multilateral military-to-military events and exercises in support of national security cooperation objectives in support of NATO Capability Targets, USEUCOM Theater Priorities, and the Ambassador’s Integrated Country Strategy. In 2021 he returned to the Intelligence Community as a Deputy Group Commander and continues to serve as the Air National Guard’s Cyber Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Weapons System Council Chair, representing 6 States and approximately 800 Airmen. Prior to his current position, the colonel was the commander of the 218th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group, Berry Field ANG Base, Nashville, TN.
EDUCATION
1991 Distinguished Honor Graduate, US Army Basic Military Training, Fort Sill, OK
1992 Initial Entry Rotary Wing course, student company commander, selected for UH-60 Multi-Track course, Fort Rucker, AL
1997 Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts (Cum Laude) Regents College, The University of the State of N.Y.
1999 Distinguished Grad Academy of Military Science; Award for Military & AFA Academic Achievement, McGee Tyson, TN
2000 Fixed Wing Qualification Course, Vance AFB, OK
2008 Squadron Office School, Correspondence
2008 Instructor Pilot Course, Little Rock AFB, AR
2011 Air Force Advanced Instrument School, Oklahoma City, OK
2013 Air Force Intelligence Officers Course, Goodfellow AFB, TX
2016 Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air University’s Air Command and Staff College, Correspondence
20xx Air University’s Air War College, Seminar Program
2023 Joint and Combined Warfighting School (JCWS) JPME-II, Norfolk, VA
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1991 – February 1998, UH-60 Blackhawk Pilot, US Army
2. November 1998 – September 2012, FTU Instructor Pilot, Chief Aircrew Training, 105th Airlift Squadron, TNANG, Nashville, TN
3. October 2012 – February 2017, Commander, 246th Intelligence Squadron, TNANG, Nashville, TN
4. February 2017 – July 2018, Director, State Partnership Program, TN JFHQ / J5, Nashville, TN
5. July 2018 – July 2020, Bilateral Affairs Officer, Office of Defense Cooperation, USEUCOM / US Embassy, Sofia, Bulgaria,
6. July 2020 – January 2022, Director, State Partnership Program, TN JFHQ / J5, Nashville, TN
7. January 2022 – October 2023, Deputy Commander, 218th Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Group, Nashville, TN
8. October 2023 – October 2025, Commander, 218th Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Group, TNANG, Nashville, TN
9. October 2025 – Present, Deputy Commander, 118th Wing, TNANG, Nashville, TN
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. February 2017 – July 2018, State Partnership Program Director, TN JFHQ / J5, Nashville, TN, as a Lt Col
2. July 2018 – July 2020, US Embassy, Bulgaria, Office of Defense Cooperation, Bilateral Affairs Officer, USEUCOM, as a Lt Col
3. July 2020 – January 2022, SPP Director, TN JFHQ / J5, Nashville, TN, as a Lt Col
4. February 2024 – Awarded Level III Joint Qualified Officer Designation
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flying Hours: More than 4500 hours (500 combat/combat support)
Military Aircraft Flown: UH-1, UH-60, T-37, T-1, C-130E, C-130H2, WC-130
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Air and Space Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2016 National Military Intelligence Association Award for Military Intelligence Research
2003 State of Tennessee’s Junior Officer of the Year
1999 Academy of Military Science; Distinguished Graduate, Academic & Military Achievement Awards
1992 Army Aviation Association of America Air/Sea Rescue Award
OCCUPATIONAL BADGES
Senior Intelligence Badge
PUBLICATIONS
“Masters of Analytical Tradecraft: Certifying the Standards and Analytic Rigor of Intelligence Products,” Air University Press, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., 2019
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Permanent member, National Guard Association of the United States (NAGUS)
Permanent member, Board of Trustees, National Guard Association of Tennessee (NAGTN)
Member, Air Force Association
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant October 22, 1999
First Lieutenant October 22, 2001
Captain October 27, 2003
Major, March 12, March 2010
Lieutenant Colonel April 24, 2014
Colonel October 1, 2023
(Current as of January 2026)