Lieutenant Col. Elizabeth Blanchford is a Joint Logistics Planner, 953rd Reserve Support Squadron, Joint Planning Support Element, Joint Enabling Capabilities Command (JECC), U.S. Transportation Command, Norfolk, Virginia.

She is part of a unique mission which provides ready, rapidly deployable skillsets to form a joint task force in response to a major theater crisis. She provides strategic mobility functional expertise in development of contingency and crisis action plans for joint force commanders, accelerating the formation and effectiveness of JTF Headquarters with the joint operation planning process and logistics and air mobility planning.

She serves as a subject matter expert for JECC on strategic air mobility capabilities of the Air Force in joint operation planning.

A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Blanchford earned her Bachelor of Science in General/Liberal Studies, concentration in Biology with a Russian language minor in 1995. She earned her Master of Science degree as a Distinguished Graduate from Air University in Military Operational Art and Science and received the coveted Transformation Award for her thesis paper.

Blanchford entered active duty May 1995. Graduating from Aircraft Maintenance Officer training in 1995, she has had a broad range of assignments ranging from flight-line and depot maintenance to serving as an assistant director of Aerospace Studies, AFROTC Montana State University Detachment 450.

As a Tanker Airlift Control Element maintenance and operations officer with the 621st Air Mobility Operations Group, she led teams in support of presidential, humanitarian and contingency operations worldwide.

More recently she deployed with the JECC for a five-month crisis action planning effort at European Command. Following that deployment she served on a one-year active duty tour as an operations analyst in the EUCOM J7. She was responsible for providing timely, accurate, and relevant assessments to EUCOM senior leadership to enable their decision making process.
In addition to these assignments,

Blanchford performed duties as the admissions liaison officer for U.S. Air Force Academy for 11 years, two of which she served as the director for Montana.

Last year she represented the United States as team lead for the first women’s Military Competition team for Confederación Interaliada de Oficiales de Reserva (CIOR) in nearly a decade. This three-person Military Pentathlon team competed against NATO counterparts in rifle and pistol shooting, orienteering, land and water obstacle course, and hand grenade throwing. The women’s team took first out of 24 teams in the Team Combat Casualty Care competition in Shumen, Bulgaria.

As a civilian she served as an international recruitment specialist for Montana State University. She was responsible for recruitment activities worldwide with a focus on Asia, India, the Middle East and Europe, traveling independently to 50 countries making presentations and conducting meetings with colleagues, counselors, students and families.

Blanchford also spent four years as a staff officer with the Physical Disability Board of Review, a congressionally mandated joint appellate level review board for veterans discharged from service in the 10 years post 9/11 with a disability of 20 percent or less.

Finally, she has accepted a job as the humanitarian assistance advisor to the military for the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and will begin training for the new position next month.

Her awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, and Joint Service Achievement Medal.