Col. William Lutmer is the Commander, 52nd Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. Col. Lutmer leads a wing of more than 5,000 dedicated military and civilian personnel - including members at nine geographically separated units in five different countries - who maintain, deploy, and employ the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft and $6 billion of United States Protection Level-1 assets in support of NATO and U.S. missions as directed by National Command Authorities. The wing supports the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe with mission-ready personnel and systems providing expeditionary air power for suppression of enemy air defenses, counter air, air interdiction, and close-air support.
Col. Lutmer is a graduate of The Ohio State University and received his commission through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Col. Lutmer is a command pilot with over 2,700 hours in the F-16. He has four combat deployments supporting Operations IRAQI FREEDOM, ENDURING FREEDOM and INHERENT RESOLVE. He has held a variety of flying positions to include F-16 fighter squadron commander, F-16 instructor pilot, flight examiner, weapons officer, and United States Air Force Weapons School instructor.
Prior to his current position, Col. Lutmer was the Commander, 31st Operations Group, 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy.
EDUCATION
2001 Bachelor of Science in Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
2002 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2009, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2010 Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2012 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2012 Masters of Systems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
2020 Masters of Science in Airpower Strategy and Technology Integration, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 2002 – December 2003, Student, Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
2. January 2004 – November 2004, Student, F-16 Flying Training, Luke AFB, Ariz.
3. November 2004 – November 2007, Squadron Scheduler, Electronic Combat Pilot, 14th Fighter Squadron, Misawa Air Base, Japan
4. November 2007 – June 2010, Assistant Chief of Weapons, Flight Commander, F-16 Evaluator Pilot, 77th Fighter Squadron, Shaw AFB, S.C.
5. January 2011 – January 2012, Chief of Weapons and Tactics, 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Operational Support Squadron, Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea
6. January 2012 – August 2014, Assistant Director of Operations,16th Weapons Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nev.
7. August 2014 – August 2015, Director of Operations, 414th Combat Training Squadron (RED FLAG), Nellis AFB, Nev.
8. August 2015 – January 2016, Assistant Director of Operations, 55th Fighter Squadron, Shaw AFB, S.C
9. January 2016 – May 2017, Director of Operations, 55th Fighter Squadron, Shaw AFB, S.C
10. June 2017 – June 2018, Commander, 80th Fighter Squadron, Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea
11. June 2018 – June 2019, Air Superiority Branch Chief, Combat Air Forces Division, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
12. June 2019 – June 2020, Blue Horizons Fellow, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
13. June 2020 – June 2022, Aerospace Defense Plans Branch Chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command J55, Peterson Space Force Base, Col.
14. June 2022 – May 2023, Future Plans Division Chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command J35, Peterson SFB, Col.
15. May 2023 – June 2025, Commander, 31st Operations Group, Aviano AB, Italy
16. June 2025 – Present, Commander, 52d Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem AB, Germany
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2020 – June 2022, Aerospace Defense Plans Branch Chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command J55, Peterson Space Force Base, Col., as a lieutenant colonel
2. June 2022 – May 2023, Future Plans Division Chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command J35, Peterson SFB, Col., as a colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: more than 3,000
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38, AT-38, F-16C/D, HH-60G
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with six oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with eight oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air and Space Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Dec. 7, 2001
First Lieutenant Dec. 1, 2003
Captain Dec. 1, 2005
Major Dec. 1, 2011
Lieutenant Colonel Nov. 1, 2016
Colonel May 1, 2022
(Current as of July 2025)