Col Lisa Mabbutt is the Commander of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and the 673d Air Base Wing, JBER, Alaska. The 673d Air Base Wing consists of four groups operating and maintaining the joint base for air sovereignty, combat training, force staging and throughput operations in support of worldwide contingencies. The installation hosts the headquarters for the U.S. Alaskan Command, Eleventh Air Force, 11th Airborne Division, and the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region. The 673d Air Base Wing comprises over 5,500 joint military and civilian personnel, supporting America’s Arctic Warriors and their families. The wing supports and enables two Air Force total-force wings, an Army Brigade and 55 other major mission partners. In addition, the wing provides medical care to over 35,000 joint service members, dependents, VA patients and retirees throughout Alaska. The 673d Air Base Wing maintains $11.4B in infrastructure encompassing 79,000 acres, ensuring JBER remains America’s premier strategic power projection platform.
Col Mabbutt was commissioned through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Washington. She has served in multiple base-level assignments, commanded the 11th Civil Engineer Squadron at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and deployed four times in support of contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, where she drove Joint and coalition beddown planning for three major surge operations. Additionally, she served as a staff officer at Air Combat Command, and in the Pentagon, where she managed the Air Force’s military construction program; served as a legislative liaison to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees; wrote speeches for the Under Secretary of the Air Force; and served as the Air Force representative to the Defense Business Board, where she advised 27 private-sector business executives in strategic analysis of defense business practices. She has also led Joint concepts, studies, and analyses for the J-8 Joint Requirements Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense, and led the Director’s Action Group at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, helping to strengthen and rebalance its chartered roles and mission as the Department of Defense’s Defense- and Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction. Most recently, Col Mabbutt served as the commander of the 633d Mission Support Group, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. The 2,700 personnel in her six squadrons provided mission support and quality of life for the 633d Air Base Wing, 1st Fighter Wing, Headquarters Air Combat Command, and over 30 other mission partners. She was responsible for deployment operations, facility and infrastructure operations and maintenance, security and emergency response, communications and information services, personnel support, services, contracting, and housing for an installation community hosting over 75,000 active duty, civilian, and retired personnel.
Colonel Mabbutt shares two young daughters with U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Michael J. Zuhlsdorf.
EDUCATION
2000 Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies, University of Washington, Seattle
2001 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. (Top Flight)
2006 Master of Strategic Planning for Critical Infrastructures, University of Washington, Seattle
2006 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. (Top Third Graduate)
2010 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2013 Master of Public Policy, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
2016 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2019 Master of Science in National Security and Resource Strategy, Dwight D. Eisenhower School, National Defense University, Ft. McNair, Washington D.C. (Distinguished Graduate)
2021 Defense Ventures Executive Seminar, AFWERX
2022 Seminar XXI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for International Studies, Cambridge
ASSIGNMENTS
- August 2000–August 2002, Project Programmer and Chief, Comprehensive Planning, 95th Civil Engineer Group, Edwards AFB, Calif.
- August 2002–August 2003, Chief of Design, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea
- August 2003–May 2006, Deputy Commander, Environmental Flight; Eifel Consolidation Program Manager; and Readiness Flight Commander, 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Spangdahlem AB, Germany
- July 2006–July 2009, MILCON Program Manager; Chief of Southwest Asia Delivery; and Executive Officer to the Director, Air Combat Command Directorate of Installations and Mission Support, Langley AFB, Va.
- July 2009–May 2011, Air Force MILCON Program Element Monitor, Office of the Civil Engineer, HQ USAF, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
- May 2011–July 2012, Chief of Installations & MILCON, Programs and Policy Division, Office of Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, HQ USAF, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
- July 2012–August 2013, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Scholar Fellow, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
- August 2013–June 2014, Executive Officer to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force for Installations, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
- June 2014–June 2015, Speechwriter to the Under Secretary of the Air Force, Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Executive Action Group, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
- June 2015–July 2016, Air Force Representative to the Defense Business Board, Office of the Deputy Chief Management Officer, Department of Defense, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
- July 2016–July 2018, Commander, 11th Civil Engineer Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Md.
- July 2018–June 2019, Student, General Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, National Defense University, Ft. McNair, Washington, D.C.
- June 2019–July 2020, Chief, Concepts, Studies, and Analyses, Joint Requirements Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense, Joint Staff J-8, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
- July 2020–June 2022, Deputy Chief, Threat Replication, and Chief, Director’s Action Group, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.
- June 2022–July 2024, Commander, 633d Mission Support Group, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
- July 2024–present, Commander, 673d Air Base Wing and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
- June 2019–July 2020, Chief, Concepts, Studies, and Analyses, Joint Requirements Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense, Joint Staff J-8, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. as a lieutenant colonel
- July 2020–June 2022, Deputy Chief, Threat Replication, and Chief, Director’s Action Group, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va. as a colonel
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Recognition Ribbon
Afghan Campaign Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal with three service stars
Korean Defense Service Medal
NATO Medal (Non-Article 5)
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 9, 2000
First Lieutenant July 8, 2002
Captain July 8, 2004
Major July 1, 2010
Lieutenant Colonel February 1, 2015
Colonel January 1, 2021
(Current as of July 2024)