Lieutenant Colonel DeDe S. Halfhill most recently served as the deputy director for public affairs, U.S. Pacific Command,  where she led and syncronized joint public affairs operations, planning, coordination, and administration within the Department of Defense’s largest geographic combatant command.  She provided guidance and counsel to four service components, four sub-unified commands, U.S. departmental staffs and allied military representatives throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Colonel Halfhill was commissioned in 1996 as a graduate of Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Iowa.  Her career includes tours with the Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, The Thunderbirds; as Strategic Communication Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force; and two deployments to Iraq where she served as the public affairs advisor to the Commanding General, Multi-National Forces, Iraq and as commander, 332nd Expeditionary Force Support Squadron, Joint Base Balad, Iraq.  Colonel Halfhill also worked as a Legislative Fellow for Senator Evan Bayh.

Her education background includes:

• 1996  Bachelor of Arts degree in communications, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
• 1996  Public Affairs Officer Course, Defense Information School, Fort George G. Meade, Md.
• 2003  Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 2007  Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
• 2008  Masters of Arts degree in management, American Military University
• 2009  National Defense Fellow, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
• 2009  Legislative Studies Certificate Program, Government Affairs Institute, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
• 2012  Air War College, by correspondence