Colonel Kelly A. Padden is the commander, 377th Mission Support Group, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. She leads over 1,600 military, civilian, and contract personnel across five squadrons, providing vital installation support services including civil engineering, communications, force support, contracting, and logistics. As MSG commander, she ensures combat-ready support to more than 100 mission partners and 22,000 personnel, sustaining nuclear enterprise operations, research and development, and test missions.
A 2000 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Colonel Padden received her Reserve Officer Training Corps commission in 2004 upon completion of a Master of Business Administration degree from Texas State University-San Marcos. As a second lieutenant, she was the most junior officer ever selected for the SAF/FM sponsored Ph.D. program offered through the Air Force Institute of Technology - Civilian Institutions Program. She has served in a variety of assignments at Wing, Major Command, and Air Staff levels, and deployed in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
Prior to her current position, Col. Padden served as the Chief, Resource Management and Comptroller Division (J8), Headquarters United States Space Command, at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. In that role, she led a team of budget, accounting, and contracting professionals responsible for managing the Command’s $526 million annual budget, optimizing contract execution, and advocating for mission-critical requirements as assigned by the Secretary of Defense in the Unified Command Plan.
EDUCATION
2000 Bachelor of Science, Kinesiology, University of Texas at Austin
2004 Master of Business Administration, Texas State University-San Marcos
2005 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2009 Doctor of Philosophy, Economics, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
2010 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2015 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2018 Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
2021 Distinguished Graduate, Master of Science, National Resource Strategy, Dwight D. Eisenhower School, National
Defense University, Fort McNair, D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS OR CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. October 2004 – October 2005, Deputy Financial Services Officer, 11th Wing, Bolling AFB, D.C.
2. October 2005 – July 2006, Chief, Headquarters Air Force Budget Programs, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
3. August 2006 – December 2009, Ph.D. Student, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
4. December 2009 – June 2013, Chief, Economics and Strategic Studies, Defense Financial Management and
Comptroller School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. (January 2012 – January 2013, Chief, Financial Plans, United States
Forces-Afghanistan (J-8), Kabul, Afghanistan)
5. June 2013 – June 2014, Command Budget Analyst, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-
Hickam, Hawaii
6. June 2014 – September 2014, Deputy Branch Chief, Budget Operations, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, JB Pearl
Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
7. October 2014 – June 2015, Commander, 8th Comptroller Squadron, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea
8. June 2015 – June 2017, Commander, 39th Comptroller Squadron, Incirlik AB, Turkey
9. July 2017 – June 2018, Student, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, MCB Quantico, Va.
10. June 2018 – April 2019, Chief, Exercise Branch, Air Force Budget Programs (the Engine Room), the Pentagon,
Washington, D.C.
11. May 2019 – June 2020, Military Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
12. July 2020 – June 2021, Student, Dwight D. Eisenhower School, National Defense University, Fort McNair, D.C.
13. June 2021 – August 2023, Political-Military Planner, Counter Threats and International Cooperation (J-5), the Joint
Staff, Washington, D.C.
14. August 2023 – August 2024, Director, Commander’s Action Group, Headquarters Space Operations
Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colo.
15. August 2024 – June 2025, Chief, Resource Management and Comptroller Division (J-8), Headquarters United States
Space Command, Schriever Space Force Base, Colo.
16. June 2025 - Present, Commander, 377th Mission Support Group, 377th Air Base Wing, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
June 2021 – August 2023, Political-Military Planner, Counter Threats and International Cooperation (J-5), the Joint
Staff, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant colonel
August 2024 – June 2025, Chief, Resource Management and Comptroller Division (J-8), Headquarters United States
Space Command, Schriever Space Force Base, Colo., as a colonel
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Korean Defense Service Medal
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
NATO Medal (Non-Article V)
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
PACAF Comptroller Squadron of the Year (2015)
USAFE Comptroller and Comptroller Squadron of the Year (2016)
OSD(C) Contingency Operation Team of the Year (2016)
Air Force Comptroller Squadron of the Year (2016)
PUBLICATION
“A Pure Test of Backward Induction,” Doctoral Dissertation, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, December 2009
[TRACE publication #605, tennessee.edu]
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant August 23, 2004
First Lieutenant September 22, 2006
Captain September 22, 2008
Major March 1, 2015
Lieutenant Colonel October 1, 2018
Colonel April 1, 2024
(Current as of June 2025)