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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Lt. Col. Burton H. Catledge, the former 614th Air and Space Operations Center deputy chief of combat operations, took command of the 2nd Range Operations Squadron here during a ceremony at the Western Range Operations Control Center at 3 p.m. June 1.
Colonel Catledge replaces Lt. Col. David N. Miller, who will be assigned as the military assistant to the Under Secretary of the Air Force.
In 1995, Colonel Catledge graduated from the University of Northern Colorado where he earned a bachelor's degree in speech communications and was commissioned through the Colorado State University Reserve Officer Training Corps. His first assignment was Undergraduate Space and Missile Training at Vandenberg. Upon completion in 1995, he served as a missile combat crew commander, instructor and senior evaluator until 2000.
Following an assignment to Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., Colonel Catledge was assigned to the 2nd Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo., as a Defense Support Program crew commander and chief of standardization and evaluation. In July 2002, he completed the United States Air Force Weapons Instructor Course and was assigned to the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan, as chief of operational plans. In February 2006, he was reassigned to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.
In 2007, Colonel Catledge attended Air Command and Staff College, where he was selected to attend the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. He went on to earn a master's degree in human resource management from Troy State University, a master's degree in military operational art and science from the Air Command and Staff College, and a master's degree in airpower arts and science from the School of Advanced Airpower Studies.
In 2009, Colonel Catledge was assigned to Vandenberg's 614th AOC.
As commander of the 2nd ROPS, Colonel Catledge is responsible for the command and control of Western Range resources in support of spacelift, ballistic missile Force Development Evaluation, aeronautical, and other approved aerospace programs.
The 2nd ROPS was recognized as the 2009 Best Spacelift Squadron in Air Force Space Command.
"It is obvious that there is a lot of excellence in this organization," said Colonel Catledge. "I look forward to continuing this string of excellence, which really has become the trademark of the 2nd Range Operations Squadron."