Colonel Matthew A. Cisar is Deputy Commander, 33d Fighter Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He leads F-35 Lightning II pilot training at Eglin AFB and Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Arkansas, and hosts F-35A/B/C maintenance training for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and seven international partners. He also leads U.S. Air Force, Joint, and Coalition air battle manager and weapons director training at Tyndall AFB, Florida, and F-35 intelligence formal training at Eglin. The 33d Fighter Wing is home to 53 U.S. Air Force F-35As and varying numbers of Foreign Military Sales F-35s at Ebbing ANGB.
Colonel Cisar is a 2004 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He earned his wings as a distinguished graduate from undergraduate pilot training and went on to serve three operational assignments in the F-15E, deploying multiple times in support of operations in Southwest Asia. He is an award-winning graduate of both the United States Air Force Weapons School and the Defense Intelligence Agency’s National Intelligence University, and he served as the Pacific Air Forces Deputy Chief of Weapons, Tactics, and Ranges. Colonel Cisar went on to command the 308th Fighter Squadron where he led formal F-35A qualification and instructor training programs for the United States, Royal Netherlands, and Royal Danish Air Forces, earning recognition as Air Education and Training Command’s Top Fighter Squadron of 2021. Prior to his current position, the colonel was a Team Chief, Deployable Training Division, Joint Staff J7, Suffolk, Virginia.
EDUCATION
2004 Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2005 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2011 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2011 Master of Aeronautical Science, Embry-Riddle University, Fla.
2012 Weapons Instructor Course, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2013 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2016 Master of Science, Strategic Intelligence, National Intelligence University, Washington, D.C.
2018 Service Chief Fellow, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Washington, D.C.
2023 Master of Science, Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy, National Defense University, Norfolk, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2004 – August 2005, Operations Engineer, 452d Flight Test Squadron, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
2. August 2005 – June 2007, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Laughlin AFB, Texas
3. June 2007 – April 2008, Student, F-15E Basic Course, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
4. April 2008 – April 2011, F-15E Instructor Pilot and Assistant Chief of Weapons and Tactics, 492d Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom
5. April 2011 – July 2012, Evaluator Pilot and Flight Commander, 391st Fighter Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
6. July 2012 – December 2012, Student, F-15E Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, Nev.
7. December 2012 – April 2013, Evaluator Pilot and Chief of Weapons and Tactics, 391st Fighter Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
8. April 2013 – November 2014, Evaluator Pilot, Chief of Weapons and Tactics and Assistant Director of Operations, 335th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C. (October 2013 – May 2014, Chief of Wing Weapons and Tactics and Director of Advanced Programs, Southwest Asia)
9. November 2014 – August 2015, Evaluator Pilot and Chief of Wing Weapons and Tactics, 4th Operations Support Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
10. August 2015 – July 2016 – Student, National Intelligence University, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C.
11. July 2016 – June 2018, Deputy Chief of Weapons, Tactics, and Ranges, Pacific Air Forces, JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
12. June 2018 – February 2019, Student, F-35A Qualification and Instructor Training, 63d Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
13. February 2019 – June 2020, Director of Operations, 63d Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
14. June 2020 – June 2022, Commander, 308th Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
15. June 2022 – June 2023, Student, Joint Advanced Warfighting School, National Defense University, Norfolk, Va.
16. June 2023 -- June 2025, Joint Operations Planner/Advisor and Team Chief, Deployable Training Division, Joint Staff J7, Suffolk, Va.
17. June 2025 – present, Deputy Commander, 33d Fighter Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2023 – June 2025, Joint Operations Planner/Advisor and Team Chief, Deployable Training Division, Joint Staff J7, Suffolk, Va., as a lieutenant colonel and colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: More than 2,500, including more than 720 combat hours
Aircraft flown: T-6A, T-38C, F-15E, F-35A