Sharon KG Dunbar

Military career

AFDW is the Air Force component to the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region. Dunbar was the first female to command either organization. In this high visibility dual-command position, Dunbar oversaw Air Force operations in the National Capital Region with specific responsibilities for organizing, training and equipping combat forces for aero-space expeditionary operations, homeland security response, disaster relief and civil support operations, national special security events, and major ceremonial events such as the 57th Presidential Inauguration in 2013. In addition, she provided major command-level support for 60,000 military and civilian personnel assigned worldwide and was the Uniform Code of Military Justice authority for 40,000 Airmen.

The highest ranking Air Force officer of Korean descent, Dunbar was commissioned in 1982 upon graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy and graduated with distinction from the National War College in Washington, D.C. Her military career uniquely encompassed a series of procurement, manpower, political-military and command positions. As a Major, she was chosen to be the Air Force's first congressional fellow and was assigned to serve in the U.S. Senate for Senator Dan Coats (R-IN), Chairman of the Air/Land Forces and Personnel Subcommittees on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a respected bi-partisan voice on defense and acquisition reform. Coats assigned Dunbar to architect the pivotal legislative initiative in 1996 known as the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). She then served as the military assistant to the Honorable Rudy de Leon and went on to command a mission support squadron, Air Force Basic Military Training, and the 75th Air Base Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah where she also served as the first female installation commander. In addition to these military assignments, Dunbar was appointed by the Secretary of Defense to serve on two separate congressionally-mandated Task Forces convened to address sexual assault and harassment in the military services and their respective military service academies. She was later appointed by the Secretary of the Air Force to direct the Air Force Follow-On Review in response to the 2009 Fort Hood shooting as well as to lead the Air Force's repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in 2011.

Personal life

Dunbar and her brother were born in the Chicago area and raised in the twin cities of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois by patriotic American parents who were proud immigrants from Korea (mother) and Germany (father). Immediately upon graduating from high school, her brother attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and she was accepted into the third class of females to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Dunbar and her husband met during their first year at the Air Force Academy and married shortly after their graduation. They have two children. Dunbar retired from the Air Force after 32 years of service on December 1, 2014 and currently works for General Dynamics. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital, Armed Services YMCA and Be The Change, Inc. She was a Global Ambassador with Vital Voices, is a Trustee with Union Institute and University, and was appointed by the Secretary of Defense in 2016 to serve on DACOWITS. Dunbar completed her doctoral studies in Public Policy at The George Washington University and received an honorary doctorate from Union Institute and University.

Education

Military Awards and Decorations