Colonel Dan “Shocker” Santoro, USAF, joined the NWC as military faculty in July 2023. He was previously the Deputy Commander of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait. He commanded the 29th Weapons Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, and completed operational flying assignments at Pope AFB, North Carolina, and Ramstein AB, Germany. He is a Command Pilot and Weapons Officer, having logged over 3,400 hours in the T-34C, T-1A, C-130E, C-130H, and C-130J aircraft with more than 800 combat flying hours supporting contingency operations in Southwest Asia, the Balkans, and Africa. Col Santoro completed multiple staff tours at the Pentagon, serving as the Legislative Liaison Branch Chief of Force Structure and Strategic Basing for the Secretary of the Air Force; the Branch Chief of Joint Requirements Management for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, J-8; and the Division Chief of Security Assistance Policy and International Training and Education for the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs. Colonel Santoro received his commission through the United States Air Force Academy in 2000 and holds three Master degrees from American Military University (2010), Air University (2013), and National War College (2018).
FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE: Airpower Art and Science; Security Cooperation; Joint Capabilities Development; Legislative Affairs
REGIONAL EXPERTISE: Asia/Pacific – Japan; Southwest Asia